Germany's beloved 'traffic light man'

A reunification icon, the Ampelmann is here to stay

As Germany readies to mark 35 years since the Berlin Wall fell, one symbol of the former communist East has become an icon of reunification, seen by millions every time they cross a street, AFP reported.

East Germany's "Ampelmann" or pedestrian "traffic light man" is now instantly recognisable thanks to his chunky outline and wide-brimmed hat. He almost disappeared along with East Germany in the years after the Wall fell on November 9, 1989, when many other symbols of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) were swept away.

Its polluting Trabant cars were soon headed for the scrapheap, threadbare state-run shops gave way to Western brands, and grey prefabricated tower blocks got new licks of paint. The Ampelmann almost went the same way, said Markus Heckhausen, a businessman in his 60s from the western German city of Tuebingen.

He remembered seeing the traffic lights featuring the Ampelmann often lying on the side of the road in the early days of reunited Germany.

Despite being a "Wessi" - the sometimes pejorative nickname for West Germans - Heckhausen took up the cause of the Ampelmann and spotted a commercial opportunity. He started collecting the chunky lights to turn them into indoor lamps, while simultaneously launching an appeal for the Ampelmann to be saved on the streets.

The campaign struck a chord with many East Germans who felt "they were losing their identity" as their country was practically subsumed into its Western neighbour, said Heckhausen.

Not only was the Ampelmann saved in the East, but he also became a rare symbol from the GDR to be adopted in parts of the West, including in the former western sectors of long-divided Berlin. The design was created in 1961 by the state's "transport psychologist" Karl Peglau and became something of a star within East Germany, even popping up in cartoons.