From the 13th issue onwards the motto "Sie sehen selbst, Sie hören selbst, urteilen Sie selbst!" ("You see for yourself, you hear for yourself, judge for yourself!") devised by its first editor-in-chief Kurt Maetzig appeared at the top of each newsreel. With the founding of the GDR in October 1949, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) increasingly exerted its influence on reporting, the slogan was abolished and the newsreel was mainly used for SED propaganda. After the East German uprising of 1953, the editorial paternalism was reduced and "Der Augenzeuge" became more cosmopolitan again.