1915-1953 - 1918-1953
Eexecuted "Atomic" Spies

Convicted by Circumstance.

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for their alleged roles in passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. No hard evidence against them was offered at their trial, although they had been implicated by several of their coconspirators, including Ethel's brother David Greenglass and Max Elitcher, a college classmate of Julius's. The Rosenbergs maintained their innocence throughout their trial. The fact that they were convicted on circumstantial evidence and the severity of their sentence indicate how seriously Americans took two of the greatest fears of the 1950s: communism and the atomic bomb.

A Communist Couple.

Julius Rosenberg met his future wife, Ethel Greenglass, at a 1936 New Year's Eve benefit for the International Seamen's Union. Ethel was a strong union sympathizer, and she found that she and Julius held many political...