Ampelmännchen

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Karl Peglau's original design

Ampelmännchen (help·info) (German: little traffic light man) is the symbolic person shown on traffic lights at pedestrian crossings in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR - East 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 the reunification of Germany, there were different forms used in the two German states, with those originating in the former GDR 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. The Ampelmännchen later became a character on an East German television program used in drivers' education.

Following German unification in 1990, 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 western districts of Berlin. Some western German cities, such as Saarbrücken, have since adopted the design.

[edit] History

The Ampelfrau

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 "petit bourgeois" hat.

In 2004, a female counterpart, the Ampelfrau, appeared in Zwickau. It can also be found today in Dresden^{[citation needed]}.