Robert and his brother Michael were aged six and 10 when their parents Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for conspiring to pass intelligence about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.
The 1950s case still isn’t closed. Robert, now a retired lawyer, is fighting to have his mother exonerated and there are unsettling questions about her death sentence. SPYSCAPE examines the nuclear fallout.
Robert and his brother Michael, who now use the surname Meeropol
Why were the Rosenbergs executed?
Communist party members Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage and executed in 1953 for passing intelligence about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union during WWII. Some believe the charges were Cold War communist hysteria - part of the Red Scare that followed the war - although others argue that Soviet documents made available after the fall of communism indicate their guilt.
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Robert and his brother Michael were aged six and 10 when their parents Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for conspiring to pass intelligence about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.
The 1950s case still isn’t closed. Robert, now a retired lawyer, is fighting to have his mother exonerated and there are unsettling questions about her death sentence. SPYSCAPE examines the nuclear fallout.
Robert and his brother Michael, who now use the surname Meeropol
Why were the Rosenbergs executed?
Communist party members Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage and executed in 1953 for passing intelligence about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union during WWII. Some believe the charges were Cold War communist hysteria - part of the Red Scare that followed the war - although others argue that Soviet documents made available after the fall of communism indicate their guilt.
Julius Rosenberg was an engineer who joined the US Army Signal Corps in 1940 and within two years he was involved in espionage. He was accused of recruiting his brother-in-law, David Greenglass, a member of the Special Engineer Detachment at Los Alamos. According to Julius’ Soviet handler, Rosenberg - codenamed ‘Liberal’ - provided numerous classified documents, including a model of a proximity fuze. Throughout their ordeal, the Rosenbergs maintained their innocence.
Ethel was an aspiring actress and secretary who met Julius through her activism and engagement in the Communist Party. They married in 1939. While Ethel was also tried and convicted of espionage, doubt has been raised about whether she was guilty of the charge against her.
Why is Ethel Rosenberg’s conviction so controversial?
Some believe that Ethel’s execution was politically motivated and that the government wanted to deter other Soviet sympathizers in an era of anti-communist sentiment. The case against Ethel was largely based on the testimony of her brother - star witness David Greenglass - an atomic spy who served 10 years of his 15-year prison sentence. David later admitted lying under oath when he accused Ethel of typing the notes Julius passed to the USSR. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Greenglass said the prosecution encouraged his lies and that he succumbed to the pressure because he feared his wife Ruth might be charged. David said simply, "As a spy who turned his family in... I don't care."
What happened to Ethel and Julius’ children?
Robert and his brother Michael Rosenberg were adopted by writer/songwriter Abel Meeropol and his wife and the boys took their surname. After examining the Venona Project documents released in 1995, Michael and Robert said they believe their father was involved in espionage. There are still doubts about whether he was guilty of the charge, however. They also believe that witnesses fabricated evidence against their mother and that she was innocent of the charge. Robert, a retired lawyer, told El Pais newspaper in 2022 that he wants his mother exonerated and is considering “demanding that material about the case that is not yet public be released”.
What was the Venona Project that persuaded Roger and Michael their father was involved in espionage?
The US Army's Signal Intelligence Service - the precursor to the National Security Agency (NSA) - started a secret program in February 1943 (later codenamed Venona) to examine Soviet diplomatic communications. The Venona files and cables provided evidence of the covert activities of several atomic-era spies, including Klaus Fuchs, Julius Rosenberg, and US physicist Theodore Alvin Hall. The files exposed the fact that Julius Rosenberg had a KGB codename and linked the Rosenbergs to atomic spy David Greenglass and his wife, both ardent communists.
Why did President Eisenhower refuse to grant executive clemency to the couple?
Newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower declined to intervene stating: "The nature of the crime for which they have been found guilty and sentenced far exceeds that of the taking of the life of another citizen; it involves the deliberate betrayal of the entire nation and could very well result in the death of many, many thousands of innocent citizens."
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