Despite some public outrage and failed appeals, the Rosenbergs were executed by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison on June 19, 1953. 2006. Ethel was arrested two months later. There are some conflicting assessments among historians regarding the outcome of the Rosenberg trial. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Some atomic scientists have claimed that the information David and Julius passed along would not have been of great importance to the USSR because it was incomplete and not very detailed. Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy by Anne Sebba, W&N 20, 304 pages/St Martin's Press $28.99, 304 pages Rebecca Abrams is the author of 'The Jewish Journey: 4,000 Years in 22 Objects . He was U.S. citizen and electrical engineer. National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. But this testimony was not shown to lawyers during the Rosenbergs trial. He had been recruited to spy for the Soviet Union which was far from uncommon in those days and he subsequently passed on information about what was happening at Fort Monmouth. [27], The trial of the Rosenbergs and Sobell on federal espionage charges began on March 6, 1951, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ethel, at Julius's request, had taken his notes and "typed them up." There was international outrage at her death. Indeed, by your betrayal you undoubtedly have altered the course of history to the disadvantage of our country. Abandoning that effort, he returned to Mexico City. He said they had urged the death sentence for Ethel in an effort to extract a full confession from Julius. Rosenberg's arrest had been preceded by the arrest of Harry Gold and David Greenglass, Rosenberg's brother-in-law, and was to be followed three and a half weeks later by the arrest of his wife, Ethel. Ethels execution was botched. The controversy over their guilt was seemingly resolved in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the release of Soviet intelligence information that confirmed Julius Rosenbergs involvement in espionage. He wrote Strange Fruit, a song made famous by Billie Holiday, and the royalties from that and other songs kept the family comfortable. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [8], Ethel Greenglass was born on September 28, 1915, to a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City. [26] Julius and Ethel were put under pressure to incriminate others involved in the spy ring. He left the Communist Party to avoid suspicions. In his viewpoint, Ethel was only minimally involved and therefore her execution was unjust. Espionage was a major concern for the United States government during the Manhattan Project. He was 51. David originally had said that he had passed the atomic data he had collected to Julius on a New York street corner. Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg were American citizens executed for conspiracy to commit espionage, relating to passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. [36], Jean-Paul Sartre, a Marxist existentialist philosopher and writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, described the trial as, a legal lynching which smears with blood a whole nation. John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, and Alexander Vassiliev. Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 - June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg ( ne Greenglass; September 28, 1915 - June 19, 1953) were an American couple who spied for the Soviet Union. She didnt cry in public, and the media gleefully judged her unfeeling and, by implication, guilty of the accused crime, as a result. In 2021 Ethel's sons restarted the campaign to pardon Ethel, as they were more optimistic that President Biden will consider this favorably. [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. Except that is not what happened. She and David met in the YCL, and married in 1942. 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. She knew what he was doing She was complicit merely by knowing, so thats why they charged them with conspiracy to commit espionage.. Three years after the trial, on June 19th, 1953 the Rosenbergs were executed. Do not let this crime against humanity take place. In early 1953, he wrote a letter to President Eisenhower, requesting that Ethel and Julius sentences be commuted to prison. The cable also makes clear that the sister's husband is involved enough in espionage to have his own codename ("Antenna" and later "Liberal"). [25], On August 11, Ethel Rosenberg testified before a grand jury. Not answering questions proved to be problematic for the Rosenbergs because during theera of McCarthyism, many believed that the refusal to answer questions was an admission of guilt and involvement with the Communist Party. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Nevertheless, these decryptions formed the background of U.S. government investigation and prosecutions of American communists during the Cold War period. Ethel was arrested to put pressure on Julius and they didnt want to kill her. Distinguished Professor of History, Baylor University. Built in an English shipyard and sold to the Confederates in 1861, the Alabama was a state-of-the-art ship220 read more, After 14 Formula One race car drivers withdraw due to safety concerns over the Michelin-made tires on their vehicles, German driver Michael Schumacher wins a less-than-satisfying victory at the United States Grand Prix on June 19, 2005. Many hundreds of people filed past the biers. When questioned, Greenglass admitted to spying. They claim:The Greenglasses lies were necessary to obtain Ethels conviction; the K.G.B. Between the trial and the executions, there were widespread protests and claims of antisemitism; the charges of antisemitism were widely believed abroad[citation needed], but not among the vast majority in the United States. Fuchs was charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, and he confessed to spying for the Soviet Union. [11], Rosenberg provided thousands of classified reports from Emerson Radio, including a complete proximity fuse. O n June 19, 1953, Ethel Rosenberg was electrocuted, having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In her re-interview, Ruth Greenglass expanded on her husband's version: 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 information immediately Ethel then sat down at the typewriter which she placed on a bridge table in the living room and proceeded to type the information that David had given to Julius. Seven different appeals reached the Supreme Court of the United States and were denied, and pleas for executive clemency were dismissed by Pres. In 1949, the U.S. Army Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) discovered that Fuchs was a Soviet spy. 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). [71], In 2009, extensive notes collected from KGB archives were made public in a book published by Yale University Press: Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America, written by John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, and Alexander Vassiliev; Vassiliev's notebooks included KGB comments concerning Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. He stated that Julius asked him to help provide secrets about atomic weapons so that Julius could pass on the information to the USSR. I think he believed there was no evidence against him, which was not the case.. The project aimed to gather and decode messages sent by Soviet military intelligence (KGB and GRU) to the U.S. Venona would also help the government locate spy rings. 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. [79] In January 2017 Senator Elizabeth Warren sent Obama a letter requesting consideration of the exoneration request. 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. Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, installed as emperor of Mexico by French Emperor Napoleon III in 1864, is executed on the orders of Benito Juarez, the president of the Mexican Republic. He was U.S. citizen and electrical engineer. (review of. The trial lasted for nearly one month. "Injustice", Sutton Publishing. His arrest began a chain of investigations, which ultimately led to the arrest of Julius and Ethel. There were protest marches held around the world at their sentence, including in Ireland. Or he could have thought, if I admit I am a spy, I will have to name names? On June 19, 1968, a long-term anti-poverty demonstration known as Resurrection City reaches its high-water mark. Ethel became the first woman executed by the U.S. government since Mary Surratt was hanged in 1865 for her alleged role in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. 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. Can their sons reveal the truth? At a time when American fears about communism were high, the Rosenbergs did not receive support from mainstream Jewish organizations. That same year, Sobell participated in an interview with theNew York Times. 8/7/1950 David Greenglass witness testimony. [47] The defense's strategy backfired. [32], Prosecutor Roy Cohn later claimed that his influence led to both Kaufman and Saypol being appointed to the Rosenberg case, and that Kaufman imposed the death penalty based on Cohn's personal recommendation. Despite these fears, the trial of the Rosenbergs produced mixed reactions among the public. She also interviewed both Michael and Robby, the Rosenbergs sons, now in their 70s. A country prepared to flout the law, to instil fear, and to also arrest his girlfriend: does that not strike you as terrifying?, She was removed from the electric chair after three charges, only for it to be discovered her heart was still beating. At age 23, he was a prosecutor on the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union in 1951 and executed by electric chair two years. [42] Pope Pius XII appealed to President Dwight D. Eisenhower to spare the couple, but Eisenhower refused on February 11, 1953. [77], In March2016, Michael and Robert (via the Rosenberg Fund for Children) launched a petition campaign calling on President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to formally exonerate Ethel Rosenberg. Opines that mccarthyism caused chaos in america. She describes Julius Rosenberg as a naive idealist. Another conspirator, Morton Sobell, a college classmate of Julius Rosenberg, fled to Mexico but was extradited. Ethel and Julius sentences be commuted to Prison indeed, by your betrayal you have. If you see something that does n't look right, click here to contact us States. Were more optimistic that President Biden will consider this favorably 1915, to Jewish! 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