Ethel Greenglass and Julius Rosenberg were both born into immigrant Jewish families in New York City during World War I. The Rosenberg children were permitted to visit their parents during their incarceration. [45], The execution was scheduled for 11p.m. that evening, during the Sabbath, which begins and ends around sunset. He also explains that Rosenberg was fired from the Army Corps of Engineers in January of 1945, and that KGB files state his espionage activities ended by 1945, so the meeting David Greenglass mentioned could neverhave occurred. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the only spies executed during the Cold War and some question whether their sentence was fair. It was never in doubt that Julius Rosenberg had conducted acts of espionage. And, in fact, the Rosenbergs themselves essentially believed that they had done nothing wrong in the grand scheme of things. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were buried at Wellwood Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Pinelawn, New York. [11] By this time, following the invasion by Nazi Germany in June 1941, the Soviet Union had become an ally of the Western powers, which included the United States after Pearl Harbor. Copyright 2022 by the Atomic Heritage Foundation. J. Edgar Hooverpublicly opposed the trial. The Greenglasses now claimed that Julius, with help from Ethel, recruited David into the atomic spy ring in 1944. Harry Gold, a lab chemist and Soviet spy, passed this information to the USSR. Ethel Rosenberg was 37 and the mother of two small sons when she was executed in New York in 1953. [10], According to a 2001 book by his former handler Alexander Feklisov, Rosenberg was originally recruited to spy for the interior ministry of the Soviet Union, NKVD, on Labor Day 1942 by former spymaster Semyon Semyonov. She became involved in labor disputes and joined the Young Communist League, where she met Julius in 1936. The security of the Marianas Islands, in the western Pacific, were vital to read more, Attempting to convince local Native Americans to make peace with the United States, the Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet meets with the Sioux leaderSitting Bull in present-day Montana. Convicted of espionage in 1951, they were executed by the federal government of the United States in 1953 at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, becoming the first American civilians to be executed for such charges and the first to receive that penalty during peacetime. Julius Rosenberg was arrested on suspicion of espionage on June 17, 1950, and accused of heading a spy ring that passed top-secret information concerning the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. But this testimony was not shown to lawyers during the Rosenbergs trial. Her husband, Julius, had been executed a short time before her. The trial continues to be controversial today. The US government offered to spare the lives of both Julius and Ethel if Julius provided the names of other spies and they admitted their guilt. Communism in this country and Communism throughout the world. At a time when American fears about communism were high, the Rosenbergs did not receive support from mainstream Jewish organizations. A mix of June and 19th, Juneteenth has become a day to commemorate the end of slavery in America. "[70], He said that he thought the hand-drawn diagrams and other atomic-bomb details that were acquired by David Greenglass and passed to Julius were of "little value" to the Soviet Union, and were used only to corroborate what they had already learned from the other atomic spies. I believe there should be., Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy,by Anne Sebba, is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, A Small Town in Ukraine: Fascinating mapping of history and bloodshed around a geopolitical fault line, Eithne Strong swam against the tide. Julius (1918-1953) and Ethel (1915-1953) Rosenberg were a nondescript couple accused in 1950 by the United States government of operating a Soviet spy network and giving the Soviet Union plans for the atomic bomb. Perl contributed to the development of the first jet fighter in the U.S. [78] In October 2016, both Michael and Robert Meeropol spoke with Anderson Cooper in an interview which aired on 60 Minutes. The Rosenbergs turned over this information to Harry Gold, a Swiss-born courier for the espionage ring, who then passed it to Anatoly A. Yakovlev, the Soviet Unions vice-consul in New York City. All 119 References in We Didnt Start the Fire, Explained, Spies Like Us: 10 Famous Names in the Espionage Game, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Rosenberg-and-Ethel-Rosenberg, Atomic Heritage Foundation - The Rosenberg Trial, Spartacus Educational - The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Famous Trials - Trial Of The Rosenbergs: An Account, Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Communist Party of the United States of America. [1][2][3][4], Other convicted co-conspirators were sentenced to prison, including Ethel's brother, David Greenglass (who had made a plea agreement), Harry Gold, and Morton Sobell. They were convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Espionage in one of the most hotly-debated trials in U.S. history. In contrast to the American media, European newspapers did not support the ruling, and there were some protests against it throughout Europe. [26] Julius and Ethel were put under pressure to incriminate others involved in the spy ring. Julius Rosenberg, arrest photograph, 17th of July, 1950. Neither President Truman nor President Eisenhower granted requests to remove the death sentence. [35], Across the world, especially in Western European capitals, there were numerous protests with picketing and demonstrations in favor of the Rosenbergs, along with editorials in otherwise pro-American newspapers, and a plea for clemency from the Pope. Moynihan found that in 1945, physicist Hans Bethe estimated that the Soviets would be able to build their own bomb in five years. Due to the recent evidence provided by Sobells interview, witness testimonies, and the Venona documents, calls have been made for Ethels exoneration. Give Bomb Data to Soviet Is Laid to His Sister Here", "Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg (American spies) Britannica Online Encyclopedia", "Judge Kaufman's Sentencing Statement in the Rosenberg Case", "The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg", "Nashville now and then: A lawyer's last gamble", "Funeral Tributes To Rosenbergs: Execution Denounced", "Never Losing Faith for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg", "False testimony clinched Rosenberg spy trial", "50 years later, Rosenberg execution is still fresh", "Khrushchev on Rosenbergs: Stoking Old Embers", "K.G.B. Many Americans, however, believed that the Rosenbergs had been dealt with justly. The Meeropols were both teachers, and Abel was also a lyricist. Ethel's execution did not go smoothly. The couple met as members of the Young Communist League, married in 1939 and had two sons. Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg, Ethel Rosenberg ne Ethel Greenglass, (respectively, born May 12, 1918, New York, New York, U.S.died June 19, 1953, Ossining, New York; born September 28, 1915, New York Citydied June 19, 1953, Ossining), the first American civilians to be executed for conspiracy to commit espionage and the first to suffer that penalty during peacetime. Or Black Despair? On Solidarity Day, over 50,000 people flock to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to protest, sing, hear speeches and demonstrate on behalf of national read more, Chinese American Vincent Chin, 27, is beaten in the head with a baseball bat by two white autoworkers in Detroiton June 19, 1982. The vault, which now has the capacity to hold read more, In what is nowknownas Juneteenth, on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrive in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War is over and slavery in the United States is abolished. ", Deborah Friedell, "How Utterly Depreaved!" Can their sons reveal the truth? Ethel, at Julius's request, had taken his notes and "typed them up." Their trial remains controversial today. Robert wrote a later memoir, An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey (2003). Chin died in a hospital four days later, on June 23. Ethel Greenglass, (respectively, born Sept. 28, 1915, New York, N.Y., U.S.died June 19, 1953, Ossining, N.Y.; born May 12, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.died June 19, 1953, Ossining, N.Y.), U.S. spies. Ruth statedin her witness testimony:Julius then took the info into the bathroom and read it and when he came out he called Ethel and told her she had to type this info immediately. Highly sympathetic portraits of the Rosenbergs were offered in major novels, including E.L. Doctorows The Book of Daniel (1971) and Robert Coovers The Public Burning (1977). President Eisenhower, supported by public opinion and the media at home, ignored the overseas demands. Mr. Bloch [their counsel], who delivered one of the main orations, bitterly exclaimed that America was "living under the heel of a military dictator garbed in civilian attire": the Rosenbergs were "Sweet. All Rights Reserved. Their legal team worked to have the verdict overturned, but their efforts failed. [19], Another conspirator, Morton Sobell, fled with his family to Mexico City after Greenglass was arrested. Their case against Ethel Rosenberg was resolved 10 days before the start of the trial, when David and Ruth Greenglass were interviewed a second time. In the early 1930s, Ethel became a member of the Young Communist League. After she was given the normal course of three electric shocks, attendants removed the strapping and other equipment only to have doctors determine that Ethel's heart was still beating. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, orig. The Rosenbergs were charged with conspiracy to commit espionage and brought to trial on March 6, 1951; Greenglass was the chief witness for the prosecution. Others argue that Julius and Ethel were guilty, with Ethel playing a minor role, but that their trial and sentence were unjust due to the lack of evidence. Dwight Eisenhower in 1953. He stated, I can only say that, by immeasurably increasing the chances of atomic war, the Rosenbergs may have condemned to death tens of millions of innocent people all over the world. "We got nothing from the Rosenbergs. He left the Communist Party to avoid suspicions. She originally was an aspiring actress and singer, but eventually took a secretarial job at a shipping company. Whether it was fair or not, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the only two American civilians who were executed for espionage-related crimes during the entire Cold War. "[56], Boris V. Brokhovich, the engineer who later became director of Chelyabinsk-40, the plutonium production reactor and extraction facility that the Soviet Union used to create its first bomb material, alleged that Khrushchev was a "silly fool". Gold paidGreenglass $500 in exchange for information about the implosion lens in the atomic bomb. I think there could be some kind of exoneration, in that she was convicted on the basis of perjury, and for someone convicted on the basis of perjury, there should be a form of pardon. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were indicted, as were David Greenglass and Anatoli Yakovlev. Few trials in American history can match that of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg for its sensationalism. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In February 1950, Fuchs was arrested in the United Kingdom. Photograph: Kypros/ Getty. Meeropol, Michael, " 'A Spy Who Turned His Family In': Revisiting David Greenglass and the Rosenberg Case,", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 07:05. The cable also makes clear that the sister's husband is involved enough in espionage to have his own codename ("Antenna" and later "Liberal"). The Rosenbergs vigorously protested their innocence, but after a brief trial that began on March 6, 1951, and attracted much media attention, the couple was convicted. In 1951, Julius and his wife Ethel were tried and convicted of espionage for providing the Soviet Union with classified information. As a young attorney in 1951, Cohn pushed for the execution of Meeropol's grandparents Julius and Ethel Rosenberg on espionage charges. They also defendedSobell, who was put on trial with the Rosenbergs. Another conspirator, Morton Sobell, a college classmate of Julius Rosenberg, fled to Mexico but was extradited. Or was he more likely to get off by pleading innocence for both of them? 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