Germany finds itself at a crossroads familiar to democracies throughout history — the moment when a significant portion of the public takes to the streets not merely to oppose a party, but to defend the idea of democratic order itself. Tens of thousands of Germans mobilized in cities across the country against the Alternative for Germany party, whose electoral rise has stirred fears about the future of the republic's institutions, its economic stability, and its place within the Western alliance. The protests are less a political event than a mirror held up to a society in the midst of decidin