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| The Rosenbergs |
The Rosenberg Trial
The Rosenberg Trial began in New York Southern District federal court where Julius Rosenberg and his wife Ethel Rosenberg were both accused of selling nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. The only direct evidence of the Rosenberg's involvement was the confession of Ethel's brother, David Greenglass. He was a machinist at Los Alamos, where America developed the atomic bomb. According to Greenglass, Julius Rosenberg had asked him to pass highly confidential instructions on making the atomic weapons to the Soviet Union. These materials were passed onto the Soviets by Harry gold who was an acquaintance to Greenglass. This helped the Soviets successfully explode their first atomic bomb and effectively start the cold war in September 1949. Julius Rosenberg was also a member of the American Communist Party and was fired from his government job during the Red Scare. Even though there isn't much proof that Ethel Rosenberg was involved with her husband, the only evidence was her brother's confession where he stated that Ethel had typed up the notes of the atomic bomb for the Soviets. The Rosenbergs were sentenced to death on April 6. The Rosenbergs were offered a deal in which their death sentences would be commuted in return for an admission of their guilt. They refused and were executed.
The evidence given is pretty damning; Morton Sobell, who was tried alongside the Rosenbergs, admitted to spying for the Soviet Union and served a 17 year sentence. He stated that the Rosenbergs had willfully chosen to spy for the Soviets. However, there is still conflicting evidence, which seems to point to the fact that although they were involved in espionage, they did not pass any substantial information about the bomb so that they were not much help to the Soviets and as such did not deserve the death penalty. This is a classic example of the "Red Scare" hysteria that permeated the times, and shows how people were so paranoid that they may have framed others of Communism.
ReplyDeletehttp://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/rosenb/ROSENB.HTM