Before this film, the spy genre (and the topic of spying) was taboo in East German cultural productions, due to the widespread unpopularity of the secret police (Stasi) and its practice of spying on GDR citizens. This film is loosely based on a Stasi propaganda pamphlet about an uncovered secret US military plan to intervene in the GDR, if necessary. The pamphlet was intended to boost public support of the Berlin Wall, which had been built in 1961, and to justify its existence. for eyes only was made two years after the Berlin Wall went up and it received studio support to serve the same purpose as the pamphlet. It was a box-office success. Some film critics described the film as “the answer to the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962)."

The short film Disco Film 5: In the Heart of US Military Espionage included as a special feature on the DVD for eyes only tells the story of the real East German spy on whom the film is based.