Protesters from across Germany gathered in Berlin on Saturday against racism and the extreme right and xenophobic feelings mounted in one of the country's biggest marches in years, amid demands for the downfall of Angela Merkel.
Organizers said the number of participants exceeded 242,000. The demonstration came after protests during the summer against immigrants in a number of cities in eastern Germany and the growing popularity of the alternative party for far-right Germany ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday in Bavaria.
A police spokesman declined to say how many participants in the protest were organized by a broad coalition of associations, trade unions, parties and rights groups, including Amnesty International.
Participants in the rally held banners reading "Build bridges without walls", "Unite against racism" and "Uniting for an open and free society".
The arrival of more than one million immigrants to Germany, mostly from war zones in the Middle East, has led to growing support for the anti-immigration party.
In August, extreme right-wing groups clashed in the eastern German city of Chemnitz with police and chased people they thought were foreigners after a German man was killed and stabbed by two migrants. Similar protests took place in Dresden, Kutn and other cities in eastern Germany.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel accuses the BAD politicians of using the angry protests to fuel social tension.