Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg (25 September 1915 – 19 June 1953) and Julius Rosenberg (12 May 1918 – 19 June 1953) were an American married couple who were executed for espionage during the Cold War.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
File:Julius and Ethel Rosenberg NYWTS.jpg
Born	September 25, 1915 Ethel May 12, 1918 Julius New York City (both)
Died	June 19, 1953(1953-06-19) (aged 37) Ethel June 19, 1953(1953-06-19) (aged 35) Julius Sing Sing Prison (both)
Charge(s)	Conspiracy to commit espionage
Penalty	Capital punishment
Status	Executed
Occupation	Actress, singer, secretary (Ethel), Electrical engineer (Julius)
Children	Michael Meeropol, Robert Meeropol

The Rosenbergs were members of the Communist Party of the United States. They were accused of giving information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union (a communist country). Later evidence showed that Julius was a spy, but Ethel was not.

Espionage

Julius Rosenberg was an electrical engineer at the United States Army Corps Engineering Laboratories. He was recruited by Soviet spies on Labor Day in 1942.

By late 1944, Julius had become a recruiter for Soviet spies, and he supervised several other spies, including his brother-in-law David Greenglass. Greenglass was a machinist for the Manhattan Project (the United States Army's secret program to build an atomic bomb).

Greenglass was arrested on 15 June 1950. He confessed to spying and said Julius was involved. He later testified that he gave Julius information about nuclear weapons. Greenglass originally said his sister Ethel was not involved, but later said she was.

On 17 July 1950, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Julius. They arrested Ethel three and a half weeks later. The Rosenbergs were accused of giving information about nuclear weapons to another spy, who then gave it to a Soviet official in New York City.

Convictions

In 1951 Julius and Ethel were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war. President Dwight D. Eisenhower later explained in a press release:

They have been found guilty of conspiring with intent and reason to believe that it would [help] a foreign power, to deliver to ... that foreign power certain highly secret atomic information relating to the national defense of the United States.

Many people (in many countries) thought the Rosenbergs were innocent. Some supporters thought they were being persecuted because of antisemitism. (Both were of Jewish descent.) Others believed the Rosenbergs were guilty, but should not be executed.

Executions

File:Ethel Rosenberg Arrest Photograph - NARA - 596909.tif

Ethel Rosenberg's arrest photo

As president, Eisenhower had the power to stop the Rosenbergs' execution. (This power is called executive clemency.) He refused, saying on 11 February 1953:

[T]he crime for which they have been found guilty and sentenced far exceeds [the crime] of the taking of the life of another citizen [by executing them]; it involves the deliberate betrayal of the entire nation and could [easily] result in the death of many, many thousands of innocent citizens[.]

Protests

By the next day, 436 people had sent telegrams asking Eisenhower to reconsider and stop the execution. According to a White House memo, most of these people lived in cities on the East and West Coasts (especially New York and California). As time went on, supporters continued to contact Eisenhower. A White House memo describes how the Rosenbergs' sons asked Eisenhower not to execute their parents:

Note of 2/16/53 to the President from Michael and Robert Rosenberg... [they] state they don't want to be left without a mommy and daddy.

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The nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki. The Rosenbergs were accused of spying on the U.S. nuclear program

As their execution date approached, the Rosenbergs' supporters organized rallies and urged people to contact Eisenhower. However, they were not successful.

Both Rosenbergs were executed by electrocution on 19 June 1953, at Sing Sing Prison in New York. They were the first American civilians ever to be executed for conspiracy to commit espionage during wartime.

Post-war evidence

After the Soviet Union ended in 1991, many secret Soviet records were released. Evidence showed that Julius Rosenberg had been a spy, but Ethel had not. Based on this evidence, her sons (and other supporters) have asked several United States presidents to exonerate Ethel.

According to Edward Shapiro's research:

The Rosenberg case neither resulted from nor increased anti-Semitism ... [There have been] questions regarding the fairness of the trial. Nevertheless, no evidence [exists] that the jury’s decision or the sentence would have differed had the Rosenbergs been Gentiles."

Julius And Ethel Rosenberg Media

• Orchard St looking south at Rivington St.jpg

  Corner of Orchard and Rivington streets, Lower East Side (2005)

• Julius Rosenberg Arrest Photograph - NARA - 596910.jpg

  Mugshot of Julius Rosenberg

• Ethel Rosenberg Arrest Photograph - NARA - 596909.jpg

  Mugshot of Ethel Rosenberg, arrested during grand jury proceedings

• Greenglass bomb diagram.png

  David Greenglass's sketch of an implosion-type nuclear weapon design, illustrating what he allegedly gave the Rosenbergs to pass on to the Soviet Union

• Mugshot of David Greenglass, brother of Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg and key prosecution witness

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  Morton Sobell (left), Marshall Perlin, Robert Meeropol, Franz Loeser, April 19, 1976

• NLN Michael Meeropol 01.jpg

  Michael Meeropol (2011)

• Robert Meeropol 01A.jpg

  Robert Meeropol (2007)