In red or in green? The Ost-Ampelmännchen is getting on in years – and is still doing its job today. After the fall of the Wall, it quickly became a cult figure.
Berlin – Big birthday for the East German Ampelmännchen: 60 years ago, on October 13, 1961, the traffic psychologist Karl Peglau submitted his design of the Ampelmännchen to the East Berlin Ministry of Transport, which had become a cult figure.
With his round bulbous nose, the hat and the slight belly base, the male should look likeable, appeal to young and old – and at the same time ensure that traffic is safely regulated. Until then, there were no light signals for pedestrians in the former GDR.
From 1969 to 1972 the red and green Ampelmännchen were used in all GDR traffic lights. Modified a little, however: if the little green man in Peglau’s design was still walking to the right, it was allowed to walk to the left – in line with the socialist stance.
To this day, the East Ampelmännchen do their job and are part of public life. It wasn’t always like this: after reunification, they were initially replaced by the West German symbols. At the end of the 1990s, the East German federal states reintroduced them. The city of Berlin took them over in both East and West.
Today the little east traffic light man is a popular souvenir and symbol of “Ostalgie”. Tourists take pictures of the “cute” red and green men in the pedestrian zones and buy souvenirs. For example, on cups or as a key ring, guests from all over the world take the little east traffic light man home with them as a souvenir. dpa
