Rosenbergs

Rosenbergs Julius Rosenberg, born May 12 1918, was the child of Jewish immigrants who resided in the Lower East Side of New York City. Rosenberg was an average student and attended Seward Park High School. Besides his academic studies, Rosenberg was an aspiring leader of the Young Communist League. It is there that Julius met his future fiancé, Ethel Greenglass, in 1936 and married her three years later. Rosenberg graduated the City College of New York with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1939 and joined the Army Signal Corps a year later. Ethel Greenglass was born into a Jewish family in New York City on September 28, 1915. After her educational commitments she pursued a career as an aspiring actress and singer. After attempting to make it big, Ethel joined a shipping company as a secretary. At work she was involved in labor disputes, which led to her eventual interest in the Young Communist League where she met Julius. The couple had two children, Robert and Michael, whom were adopted by a schoolteacher after their parents were executed.

Julius was recruited by the KBB on Labor Day in 1942 by a spy Semyon Semenov. Julius had contacts with members of the Communist Party USA, including high-stakes officials such as Earl Browder and Bernard Schuster. During Julius’ relationship with the men he revealed thousands of confidential documents he obtained from Emerson Radio. Julius is responsible for recruiting several people to the KGB, including Joel Barr, Morton Sobell, Alfred Sarant, and William Perl. Julius and his brother in law, David Greenglass, worked on the Manhattan Project and revealed thousands of top-secret documents from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

During the Second World War the United States and the U.S.S.R. became allies after Germany’s surprise attack in 1941. The United States remained very cautious and suspicious of Stalin and his regime. Thus, Americans did not reveal information to the USSR. The Soviets were given information by Rosenberg, resulting in the Soviets attempting to infiltrate the Unites States operation. Shortly after possession of the documents the U.S.S.R. began production of nuclear weaponry, later resulting in the Cold War. Meanwhile, Americans were in a state of hysteria surrounding communism and there was propaganda promoting a capitalist environment. The Rosenberg Trial commenced on March 6, 1951 and the Honorable Judge Irving Kaufman presided over the case. Emanuel Hirsch Bloch served as representation for the Rosenberg’s. David Greenglass served as the prosecution’s key witness in the case. Greenglass claimed that his sister, Ethel,created notes from the couple’s apartment that contained proprietary information regarding nuclear bombs. Additionally, Greenglass claimed he gave Julius sketches of the “Fat Bomb” that dropped on Nagasaki rather than the “Little Boy” bomb, which was deployed in Hiroshima. When the couple was confronted about their involvement in the communist party they used their Fifth Amendment rights and did not reveal additional names.

At the time of the trial the United States federal prison authority did not have electric chairs. Julius and Ethel were sent to the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York State, where they were executed. The execution was originally scheduled for the eve of June 18, 1953, however; Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas delayed the execution due to a stay of execution initiated by Fyke Farmer, a Tennessee attorney. As one last attempt for an extension, Bloch requested the ceremony be executed before sunset. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed on June 19, however; Ethel did not die instantly. It took several shocks for her to be pronounced dead, resulting in smoke coming out of her head. The scene is portrayed in The Atomic Café.



Bibliography

"The Trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg." //UMKC School of Law//. Web. 02 June 2011. []. --> I used this site to get a general idea about the Rosenberg Trial. It gave an idea about what they were killed for in the first place. It was a great place to start.

"Rosenberg Trial." //Spartacus Educational - Home Page//. Web. 02 June 2011. []. --> I used this site to find out about Julius's and Ethel's early life before any of these events occurred. Their occupations, lives, etc.

"Rosenberg Case — Infoplease.com." //Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com//. Web. 02 June 2011.[] --> I used this site to find out more details about the trial. I really got into the facts with this website.

Roberts, Sam. "ETHEL AND JULIUS ROSENBERG - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com." //Metro - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com//. Web. 02 June 2011. []. --> This was a picture on this site. This was the picture of Julius and Ethel.

"September 2008 Headlines." //Institute for Historical Review//. Web. 02 June 2011. []. --> This was a picture on this site. This was the picture of them sitting in the field.

"Spun.com: DVD: The Unquiet Death of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg." //Spun.com: Buy, Sell, and Trade New and Used CDs, DVDs and Games//. Web. 02 June 2011. []. --> This was a picture on this site. This was the picture of them in prison.

"'The Truth Will Out' - HUMAN EVENTS." //Conservative News, Views & Books - HUMAN EVENTS//. Web. 02 June 2011. []. --> This was a picture on this site. This was the picture of the Judge.