[65], The Rosenbergs' two sons, Michael and Robert, spent years trying to prove the innocence of their parents. The extent of the Rosenbergs' activities came to light, however, when the U.S. government declassified information about them after the fall of the Soviet Union. Venona documentsproved that Julius Rosenberg helped lead a productive ring of Soviet spies. In 2014, five historians concluded thatSoviet documents show Ethel was actively involved and attended meetings with Julius and his sources, but that there is no evidence to suggest she typed specific notes. The couple were the only two American civilians to be executed for the crime of espionage during the Cold War.. Their case has been at the center of the controversy over communism in the United States ever since, with supporters . They were executed in 1953. Files Show About Ethel Rosenberg", "The New York Times Gets Greenglass Wrong", "Greenglass, in Prison, Vows to Kin He Told Truth about Rosenbergs", "National Archives of the United States of America", "Rosenberg Atomic Espionage Spy Case Chronology", "The Rosenbergs were executed for spying in 1953. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [25], On August 11, Ethel Rosenberg testified before a grand jury. McNutt was an engineer who worked at theKellexdesign bureau in New York City. Neither President Truman nor President Eisenhower granted requests to remove the death sentence. 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. Ethel Greenglass met Julius Rosenberg in New York City in 1936, when she was 21 and he was 18. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Neither offered any further information. Despite massive, worldwide protest, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed on June 19, 1953, at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, NY. And the newspapers reported that because she was tougher, she needed more of a jolt. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, following their arrest by the FBI in New York city for espionage, 1950. Timeline of Events Relating to the Rosenberg Trial. He then claimed that he passed this information to Julius on a New York street corner, and that Ethel was not involved. 2006. 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Or he could have thought, if I admit I am a spy, I will have to name names? For two years the Rosenberg case was appealed through the courts and before world opinion. He also named Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as contacts and denied that his wife, Ruth Greenglass, was involved with any espionage activities. She became involved in labor disputes and joined the Young Communist League, where she met Julius in 1936. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, orig. I find innocence quite a difficult word to use with Ethel, she says. I think she was clearly innocent of the charges but, on the other hand, I think she was supportive of Julius. She also interviewed both Michael and Robby, the Rosenbergs sons, now in their 70s. She and David met in the YCL, and married in 1942. He believed the execution of Ethel, a young mother, would reflect negatively on both the FBI and the Justice Department. 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. A native of Belgium, De Smet came to the United States in 1821 at the age of 20. Schneir argues that Ruth worked alone and met with a Soviet agent to deliver a sketch of a bomb, which was placed in a KGB file center on December 27, 1945. 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. The Rosenbergs were the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed for espionage during peacetime and their case remains controversial to this day. By 1942, Julius was heavily involved with espionage activities for the Soviet Union. According to Rojas, a man named Velasquez had threatened her when she rejected his sexual advances earlier in the day. Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy by Anne Sebba was published by Orion Books on 24 June 2021.[24][82]. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The Meeropols were both teachers, and Abel was also a lyricist. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rosenbergs-executed. This love of Communism and the Soviet Union soon led them into a Soviet espionage ring.. Getty Images. They were orphaned by the executions and were not adopted by their many aunts or uncles, although they initially spent time under the care of their grandmothers and in a children's home. The direct evidence of the Rosenbergs involvement came from the confessions and testimonies of David and Ruth Greenglass. "[67] He said he gave false testimony to protect himself and his wife, Ruth, and that he was encouraged by the prosecution to do so. Except that is not what happened. During the 1940s, the U. S. Army Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) conducted the Venona project. The boys went on to make successful careers in economics and law, and have families of their own. And she was the mother of my children. An American Tragedy By Anne Sebba. They were both found guilty. In the early 1930s, Ethel became a member of the Young Communist League. [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. At a time when American fears about communism were high, the Rosenbergs did not receive support from mainstream Jewish organizations. The three-year Rosenberg case culminated in their execution on Friday, 19 June, 1953, just minutes before the onset of the Jewish Sabbath. This April 5, 1951, Universal Newsreel reports on the death penalty for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. This declassified information included a trove of decoded Soviet cables (code-name: Venona), which detailed Julius's role as a courier and recruiter for the Soviets, and information about Ethel's role as an accessory who helped recruit her brother David into the spy ring and did clerical tasks such as typing up documents that Julius then passed to the Soviets. He worked for a time at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where research was going on into radar, missile controls and electronics. [68], Numerous articles were published in 2008 related to the Rosenberg case. He stated, "I would not sacrifice my wife and my children for my sister. The children say that their father did not deserve the death penalty and that their mother was wrongly convicted. But when he was arrested, his wifes arrest also followed soon after, although there was no proof of any active espionage involvement on her part. [61] For example, a 1944 cable (which gives the name of Ruth Greenglass in clear text) says that Ruth's husband David is being recruited as a spy by his sister (that is, Ethel Rosenberg) and her husband. On June 19, 1968, a long-term anti-poverty demonstration known as Resurrection City reaches its high-water mark. Judge Irving R. Kaufman presided over the trial. Timeline of Events Relating to the Rosenberg Trial. [79] In January 2017 Senator Elizabeth Warren sent Obama a letter requesting consideration of the exoneration request. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. In 2008, the transcripts of 43 out of 46 witness testimonies before the grand jury were released, including Ruths testimony. They married in 1939. In the intervening decades, it has since been conclusively proved that David Greenglass committed perjury against his own sister. 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. When she married Julius Rosenberg in 1939, the year he earned a degree in electrical engineering, the two were already active members of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the only spies executed during the Cold War and some question whether their sentence was fair. Because of the Venona documents, they now believe that Julius was a Soviet spy. She was absolutely judged for her appearance, Sebba says. "[59], The Venona project was a United States counterintelligence program to decrypt messages transmitted by the intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union. He said, "I frankly think my wife did the typing, but I don't remember. In August of 1950, a grand jury indicted the Rosenbergs for espionage. On July 17, 1950 the FBI arrested Julius, and one month later Ethel was arrested. The case was intensely controversial, touching nerves throughout American society, and debates about the Rosenbergs continue to the present day. He admitted that he had given documents to the Soviet contact, but said these had to do with defensive radar and weaponry. [13][14], The USSR and the U.S. were allies during World War II, but the Americans did not share information with, or seek assistance from, the Soviet Union regarding the Manhattan Project. 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. He was discharged when the U.S. Army discovered his previous membership in the Communist Party. He also stated that he believed Ethel was only guilty of being Julius wife and was not an active participant in the espionage ring. This was the "Fat Man" bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, as opposed to a bomb with the "gun method" triggering device used in the "Little Boy" bomb dropped on Hiroshima. 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. The case against Ethel in particular was rather . In 1940, Julius joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a civilian engineer. Initiated when the Soviet Union was an ally of the U.S., the program continued during the Cold War when it was considered an enemy. Ethel then sat down at the typewriter which she placed on a bridge table in the living room and proceeded to type the info which David had given to Julius. After this new testimony, the charges against Ruth were dropped. 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. 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. Two more electric shocks were applied, and at the conclusion eyewitnesses reported that smoke rose from her head. There was proof, which was later produced in court. 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 Or my mother or my father, OK? 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. There were protest marches held around the world at their sentence, including in Ireland. Red Resurrection? Greenglass passed information to Julius, including information about the high explosive lenses being developed at Los Alamos for the implosion bomb. ", "Plot to Have G.I. [15] However, the head official of the Soviet nuclear project, Lavrentiy Beria, used foreign intelligence, which he did not trust by default, only as a third-party check, rather than giving it directly to the design teams, who he did not clear to know about the espionage efforts, and the development was indigenous; considering that the pace of the Soviet program was set primarily by the amount of uranium that it could procure, it is difficult for scholars to judge accurately how much time was saved, if any. A letter from Michael and Robert Rosenberg pleading for the life of their parents. Julius became a leader in the Young Communist League USA while at City College of New York during the Great Depression. After being interviewed this second time, he said that he had given this information to Julius in the living room of the Rosenbergs' New York apartment. [21][22] The U.S. government claimed Sobell was arrested by the Mexican police for bank robbery on August 16, 1950, and extradited the next day to the United States in Laredo, Texas. [11], Rosenberg provided thousands of classified reports from Emerson Radio, including a complete proximity fuse. They were executed in 1953. In 1861, the liberal Mexican Benito Juarez became president of a country in financial read more, In Music Fund Hall in Philadelphia, the first national convention of the Republican Party, founded two years before, comes to its conclusion. The West was shocked by the speed with which the Soviets were able to stage their first nuclear test, "Joe 1", on August 29, 1949. O n June 19, 1953, Ethel Rosenberg was electrocuted, having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. In this testimony he named Julius and claimed he was recruited to join the Soviet spy ring by him. J. Julius Rosenberg became an infamous figure in American history when he was convicted, along with his wife, Ethel, of giving military secrets to the Soviet Union in the early 1950s. "We got nothing from the Rosenbergs. Now, however, Greenglass claimed that this exchange occurred in the living room of the Rosenbergs New York apartment, and that Ethel was present. They agreed with President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he issued a statement declining to invoke executive clemency for the pair. Agent Plays Down Atomic Role Of Rosenbergs", "The September 21, 1944 cable: The Rosenbergs and the Greenglasses", "In This True-Life Spy Story, It's America vs. Russia, the Early Years", "Grasping at Straws to Try to Exonerate Ethel Rosenberg", "Why Ethel Rosenberg Should Not Be Exonerated", "Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America", "David Greenglass, the Brother Who Doomed Ethel Rosenberg, Dies at 92", "Witness Changed Her Story During Rosenberg Spy Case", "For First Time, Figure in Rosenberg Case Admits Spying for Soviets", "Father Was a Spy, Sons Conclude With Regret", "My Parents Were Executed Under the Unconstitutional Espionage Act", "The Meeropol Brothers: Exonerate Our Mother, Ethel Rosenberg", "The Meeropol brothers: Exonerate our mother, Ethel Rosenberg", "The Rosenberg boys: The Cold War's most famous orphans", "Sen. Warren joins call for Ethel Rosenberg's exoneration", "Warren, Neal ask Obama to consider pardoning Ethel Rosenberg" (, "Flashback: Hear Bob Dylan's Lost 1983 Song 'Julius and Ethel', "Billy Joel We Didn't Start the Fire Lyrics", "David Greenglass grand jury testimony transcript", "Secret Grand Jury Testimony From Ethel Rosenberg's Brother Is Released", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Guide to the Playscript about the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Espionage Trial, An Interactive Rosenberg Espionage Ring Timeline and Archive. "Plain, deliberate, contemplated murder is dwarfed in. 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. Robert and his brother, Michael, asked president Obama to pardon their mother. As a result of this new testimony, all charges against Ruth Greenglass were dropped. I ask if she can think of a modern equivalent of Ethels predicament: incarceration by association. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were indicted, as were David Greenglass and Anatoli Yakovlev. "[57], The notes allegedly typed by Ethel apparently contained little that was directly used in the Soviet atomic bomb project. 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? There were no confessions, no names produced of other Americans spying for the Soviets, and no admission of guilt by either Rosenberg. Follow Russia Beyond on Telegram. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/ AFP via Getty. 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. Julius Rosenberg was an engineer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps who was born in New York on May 12, 1918. Historian John Earl Hayness AHF Interview. Some scholars argue that if it would have been possible to use Venona documents in court, both Hall and McNutt would have been revealed as spies and prosecuted, along with Greenglass and Fuchs. On August 17, the grand jury returned an indictment alleging 11 overt acts. Browse pg9767.kgb resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. Her children were shunted around and then went into care. 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