One sunny March day, during the revolutions of 1848, Germans were happy because King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia had just promised them a parliament. Two royal dragoons accidentally fired their muskets into a jubilant Berlin crowd. In the brief fighting that followed, 255 Berliners were killed. The next day, their bodies were placed before the royal palace, and the King and Queen appeared on their balcony to view them (see cut). The crowd shouted: "Take off your hat!" Frightened, the King obeyed. The crowd shouted: "Come down!" Again the King obeyed, and walked respectfully among the biers.
Last week, facing autocrats...
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