德国的老式无门电梯一度被打击，然而这却掀起了一场拯救这些电梯的基层抵制运动。如今看来，这场运动要赢了。

　　德国的以主祷文命名的约250套“帕特诺斯特尔”（“paternoster”）电梯仍然在使用中。这些电梯的轿厢没有门，一次大概也只够装下一两个人。它们在建筑井道里连续循环的上下移动，并且每过几秒下一个轿厢也就跟着到达每个楼层。

　　然而这种“帕特诺斯特尔”电梯的效率是这场运动中最主要的论点，紧随其后的是复古怀旧情怀和冒险的意味。一旦登上了“帕特诺斯特尔”电梯乘客将没有时间看自己的手机：必须全神贯注看准走出电梯门的时间，不然就会被夹扁了。6月24日，德国劳工部不得不屈服于群众压力，宣布这种老式无门电梯可以继续为人们服务。

　　最初联邦劳工部部长Andrea Nahles限制这种电梯的使用是出于担心乘客的安全问题。2010年，她提出了只有受过训练的职员才可以使用这种电梯的建议。然而事实上，从今年的6月1日起，“帕特诺斯特尔”电梯不再允许面对公众开放了。

　　这场运动使得有的德国民众对这种“保姆政府”有抱怨的情绪，并且激起这样的一个疑问：这样的一个规则该怎么来执行？要把安全监视器安装到每一部“帕特诺斯特尔”电梯外吗？

　　“很不幸，有时德国的现实情况真的就是能压过陈腔滥调，”法兰克福报的一名记者写到，“联邦政府认为自己必须让群众远离惊险刺激和危险的事情。一个没有任何烦恼的国家会快乐吗？”

　　Deathtrap doorless elevators are back by popular demand in Germany

　　June 25, 2015

　　A crackdown on Germany’s deathtrap vintage elevators has spurred a grassroots resistance movement to save them, and it looks like the people have won.

　　Named after the Lord’s Prayer, about 250 “paternoster” elevators still operate in Germany. The cabins, only large enough to hold one or two people at a time, have no doors. They move up and down through the building shaft in a continuous loop, and every few seconds, another cabin comes to each floor.

　　Efficiency is the main argument for the paternoster, followed closely by nostalgia as well as a taste for adventure. Riding a paternoster is no time to be staring at your smartphone: One must pay attention to the timing of your step out the door, lest you be squished. On June 24, the Labor Ministry bowed to public pressure and announced it would allow paternosters to remain in service.

　　Fear of injury has led federal labor minister Andrea Nahles to start limiting the paternoster’s use: In 2010, she proposed that only trained employees be allowed to use the elevators. Indeed, as of June 1 this year, paternosters are no longer supposed to be open to public use.

　　The move resulted in some Germans complaining about the “nanny state,” but also sparked the question: how would such a rule be enforced? Must safety monitors be stationed outside every paternoster?

　　“Sometimes the German reality unfortunately really surpasses every cliché,” wrote a reporter (German) for the Frankfurter Allgemeine. “The federal government believes it must protect the citizens even from thrill and risk. … Is a country with no other worries happy?”