Ampelmännchen

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A modern pedestrian traffic light showing the revived Ampelmännchen.

Ampelmännchen (German: little man on the traffic light) is the symbolic person shown on pedestrian traffic lights at crossings in Germany. The red Ampelmännchen extends his arms to signal "stop," and the green Ampelmännchen confidently strides ahead to signal "go."

The shapes of the Ampelmännchen are standardised, and indeed are conceptually similar to those used in other countries. Prior to German reunification there were different forms used in the two German states, with those originating in the former East Germany being particularly distinctive. In contrast to the generic human figure used in West Germany, the figure in the east is generally held to be male, and wears a hat.

Tourist souvenirs featuring the East Berlin traffic lights

In the Communist East, the Ampelmännchen became a character on an East German television program used in drivers' education.

Following German unification, there were attempts to standardise all traffic signals to the West German forms, leading to calls to save the East German Ampelmännchen. It thus became a kind of mascot for the East German nostalgia movement, known as Ostalgie. The protests were successful, and the Ampelmännchen returned to pedestrian crossings, including some in western districts of Berlin. Some western German cities, such as Saarbrücken, have since adopted the design.

[edit] History

The Ampelweibchen

The East Berlin Ampelmann was created in 1961 by traffic psychologist Karl Peglau. He theorised that people would respond better to the traffic signals if they were presented by a friendly character, instead of meaningless coloured lights. However, Peglau is said to have feared initially that the design might be rejected because of its "bourgeois" hat.

In 2004, a female counterpart, the Ampelweibchen, appeared in Zwickau. It can now also be found in Dresden.