Meet the Ampelmännchen... beloved resident of Mitte.
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The Ampelmännchen (little traffic-light man) is the symbolic person depicted on traffic lights at pedestrian street crossings in the former East Berlin. The green (Go!) Ampelmännchen is renowned for his "attitude"; his seemingly vigorous gait gives the impression that he is striding forward with confidence and purpose to build a new Socialist future.
Following German unification, attempts were made to standardize all traffic signals to the West German format. This led to calls to save the Ampelmännchen, which became a kind of mascot for the East German nostalgia movement known as Ostalgie. These protests were successful, and the Ampelmännchen returned to pedestrian crossings, including some in western Berlin.