Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were spies for the Soviet Union. They were caught, convicted and executed for their betrayal to the United States.
Julius provided thousands of classified reports from Emerson Radio. He procured information on how to make a proximity fuse, which is an electronic detonator that allows the weapon to explode when it comes within a preset distance of its target. He gave this information to his Soviet handler Alexander Feklisov in late 1944. The fuse was used in a weapon that shot down a U-2 spy plane in 1960 with the plane's pilot, Francis Gary Powers, being captured by the Soviets.
Even though the U.S. army broke the code Soviets used to send messages, some of which revealed Julius, code name "Liberal" was working with them, he wasn't the first to be caught. His brother-in-law David was and he informed the authorities about Julius activities. He initially left out his sister, Ethel's, involvement.
On June 17, 1950, Julius Rosenberg was arrested on suspicion of espionage. A few weeks later, On August 11, 1950, Ethel was arrested after testifying before a grand jury.
On March 6, 1951, proclaiming their innocence, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's trial began. The prosecution's primary witness was David Greenglass. He said that he turned over a sketch to Julius Rosenberg of the cross-section of an implosion-type atom bomb also called the "Fat Man". This was the nuclear bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the United States on 9 August 1945. David also testified that his sister Ethel, typed notes containing US nuclear secrets in the Rosenberg apartment in September 1945. When asked about their involvement in the Communist Party or their activities with its members, both Julius and Ethel plead the fifth.
The presiding judge, Irving Kaufman, noted that he held the Rosenbergs responsible for espionage and that he considered their crime worse than murder. He stated,
Julius claimed they were framed.
A series of appeals delayed Julius' and Ethel's execution for more than two years. They also had supporters who requested clemency for the couple from presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Both presidents denied to issue a pardon.
“I consider your crime worse than murder ...
I believe your conduct in putting into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties exceeding 50,000 and who knows but that millions more of innocent people may pay the price of your treason.
Indeed, by your betrayal, you undoubtedly have altered the course of history to the disadvantage of our country.
No one can say that we do not live in a constant state of tension.
We have evidence of your treachery all around us every day for the civilian defense activities throughout the nation are aimed at preparing us for an atom bomb attack."
I think they should have just let her live if the first round didn't kill her.
Julius and Ethel's sons, Michael and Robert Meerpool, spent years trying to prove their parents innocence. They and many others believed that Julius and Ethel were victims of the Cold War paranoia going on at the time. But with Rosenberg's college friend, Morton Sobell's, public confesssion in 2008, where he admitted that he had been a spy for the Soviet Union and his detailing of some Julius illicit activities, Michael and Robert concede that their father was a spy. However, they both still believe that their mother was innocent.
Also in 2015, the 100th anniversary of Ethel's birth, 11 members of the New York City Council issued a proclamation stating that "the government wrongfully executed Ethel Rosenberg," and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer officially recognized, "the injustice suffered by Ethel Rosenberg and her family," and declared it, "Ethel Rosenberg Day of Justice in the Borough of Manhattan."
In March 2016, Michael and Robert launched a petition campaign calling on President Obama and US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to formally exonerate Ethel Rosenberg.
As of yet, no US administration has taken action.
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