Slika Jugoslavije u istočnonemačkoj štampi 1957. godine

The newspapers of Eastern Germany (Neues Deutschland, Berliner Zeitung, Neue Zeit) printed articles regarding Yugoslavia that were directly influenced by political relations between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union and by the need to secure a diplomatic recognition of Eastern Germany by a non-Allied country. As the motivating force for writing on Yugoslavia was of political origin, those articles mostly dealt with political issues. The articles mainly focused on Yugoslav-Soviet relations, the relations between Yugoslavia and other countries of Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia’s stance regarding the German Question and relations between Yugoslavia and the GDR. The end result was that reporting on these topics was never complete and was far from accurate, the direct cause of which was the propagandist policies that were practiced by Eastern Germany at that time. Most of the articles on Yugoslavia during the first months of 1957 were chosen and reprinted from newspapers belonging to the communist countries (mainly from Moscow as well as from other Eastern European capital cities). In the second half of the year, in conjunction with diplomatic talks, there was the intent to print an increased number of articles concerning Yugoslavia. During that period, the articles became qualitatively different – more informative, longer, dealing with more diverse themes. This change was also rooted in an increased contribution from Eastern German reporters. However, as is typical with most reporting on Yugoslavia done at that time, the function of the articles was more important than the content. Politically influenced articles, especially those concerning diplomatic recognition, had above all the role of propagandist attacks at Bonn. Articles which painted Yugoslavia in a positive light and emphasized the success and advancements of Yugoslavia as a country were done with the intent to form a representative picture of Yugoslavia. The intent driving this type of reporting was two-fold: on one hand, the articles enhanced the meaning of Yugoslavian acknowledgement of Eastern Germany in the extra-political sphere, while on the other hand presenting a utopian vision of a socialist society. Reporting on Yugoslavia also played the role of self-denazification, with the desire to „cleanse“ the country of any guilt related to WWII, and displace that guilt onto the „militaristic and imperialistic“ elite of Western Germany