Title Author Unit Instructor Date Surname 2 Julius Rosenberg was born on May 12, 1918, to Russian parents, and Ethel Rosenberg, was born September 28, 1915, to a Russian father, and an Austrian mother. Julius Rosenberg joined the Young Communist League at 14. The Rosenbergs resided in Manhattan’s lower east side most of their lives and attended the same high school, Ethel graduating in 1931 and Julius in 1934. Julius Rosenberg joined the school of engineering at a New York college in September 1934, where he was secretary of the Young Communist League, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in February 1939. Julius Rosenberg began associating with Ethel Greenglass around 1932, and they became devoted communists between 1932 and 1935. They were married June 18, 1939 in New York City and had two sons. Venona Project, In 1943, the United States launched the Venona Project at Arlington hall aimed at decrypting messages transmitted by the intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union. Greenglass Greenglass joined the U.S. Army in April 1943 and was assigned to the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in July 1944. Two weeks later, he was assigned to Los Alamos, New Mexico and reported in August 1944. In November 29, 1944, Julius Rosenberg invited Ruth Greenglass to dinner where Ethel told Ruth that Julius was finally providing information to the Soviet Union; something he always wanted. Ethel and Julius wanted David to give information concerning the bomb, and David declined initially, but agreed the next day. In January 1945, David arrived in New York City on furlough, and about two days later Julius Rosenberg came to David’s apartment to ask him for information on the A-bomb, and The next Surname 3 morning he gave this material to Rosenberg, along with a list of the scientists at Los Alamos and the names of possible recruits. Harry Gold In the spring of 1945, Ruth Greenglass moved to Albuquerque, and on the first Sunday of June 1945, a man, subsequently identified by David as Harry Gold visited and identified himself. He requested information which David provided like he had to Rosenberg. Emil Fuchs In the summer of 1949, the FBI learned that the secret of the construction of the atom bomb had been stolen and turned over to a foreign power. A swift investigation was carried out which resulted in the implication of Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs, who was apprehended by British authorities on February 2, 1950. He admitted his involvement in Soviet atomic espionage, but not the identity of his American contact. This contact was subsequently identified through FBI investigation through Exploitation of VENONA as Harry Gold, a Philadelphia chemist. On May 22, 1950, Gold confessed his espionage activity to the FBI. Charges Filed The FBI moved to bring to justice those implicated, among whom were Klaus Fuchs, Morton Sobell, David Greenglass, Theodore Hall, William Perl, the Rosenbergs, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Kim Philby, and Harry D. White. Rosenberg & Sobell Trial Julius and Ethel were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage on March 29, 1951, and were sentenced to death. Throughout their appeals, the Rosenbergs maintained their innocence. They Surname 4 were executed at Sing Sing prison in New York on June 19, 1953. The trial and execution of the Rosenbergs generated an enormous amount of controversy, both at the time and today. In recent years, new evidence has confirmed that Julius was indeed a Soviet agent, but has shed light as to the possible innocence of Ethel. The Rosenberg trial increased the growing apprehension among the American public of Soviet espionage, and fueled the anti-Communist campaigns of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Implications of the Greenberg Trial There are differing opinions on the implication of the Greenberg trial. In Final Verdict, Walter Schneir proposes that the Greenglasses fabricated the evidence against Ethel and that since Rosenberg was fired from the Army Corps of Engineers in January of 1945, and because KGB files show he was inactive by 1945, the meeting David Greenglass testified could never have occurred. Schneir further debates that Ruth worked alone and met a Soviet agent to deliver a sketch of a bomb, which was placed in a KGB file center on December 27, 1945, after Julius left. On the flip side, the scholars who argue that the Rosenbergs were guilty, such as Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz and Ronald Radosh still agree that their trial and sentence were not just due to the inadequate evidence presented, and that the prosecutors abused the legal system to guarantee a conviction. Many still question whether there was enough valid evidence during the trial to convict and execute the Rosenbergs. More feel the punishment was too harsh for their crimes. Several atomic scientists have claimed that the information David and Julius passed along was incomplete and shallow and would therefore not have been of great importance to the USSR. Calls have Surname 5 therefore been made to exonerate Ethel due to recent Venona documents and Sobell’s 2008 interview, which have appeared to exempt her from involvement as a Soviet Spy. 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