Aaron on the significance and symbolism of the Rosenbergs

From: "Aaron Short" 
To: 
Subject: Ethel and Julius Rosenbergs
Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2001 16:22:55 -0500


Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and the significance and symbolism of the =
Rosenberg case among the political left
Aaron Short


    Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were American Jews, who were executed by =
the federal government after being tried and convicted of espionage for =
allegedly turning over military secrets to the Soviet Union concerning =
the makeup of the atomic bomb.  The Rosenbergs were members of the =
Communist Party when they married in 1939, and Julius accepted a =
position as a civilian engineer with the Army Signal Corps until 1945.  =
After that, Julius set up his own machine shop in partnership with his =
brother-in-law Bernard Greenglass.  His other brother-in-law, David, =
joined the partnership after his release from the U.S. Army in 1946.
    In February 1950, the British government arrested Klaus Fuchs, a =
German scientist involved in the Manhattan Project, for passing atomic =
secrets to the KGB.  Fuch's confession and the FBI's questioning of =
David Greenglass led to the arrest of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in July =
and August of 1950 as coconspirators.  The Rosenbergs maintained their =
innocence throughout their trial and appeals, but were eventually =
convicted and were executed in Sing Sing Prison on June 19, 1953.  They =
believed their in-laws, who received leniency for their own crimes by =
pointing out supposedly more important traitors, were falsely accusing =
them.  The Rosenbergs were vulnerable for their past political =
affiliations.  They also asserted that they had been victims of =
anti-semitism in the same way that the Justice Department tried Sacco =
and Vanzetti and the Scottsboro boys. =20
    The reality of the extent of their involvement in Soviet espionage =
has been questioned, but in the past twenty years, evidence has shown =
that Julius Rosenberg  was in fact the head of a spy ring gathering and =
passing nonatomic defense information to the Soviet Union and that KGB =
and Communist Party officials were aware of the espionage connection.  =
Evidence from Nikita Khrushchev's memoirs shows that the Soviets =
acknowledged that the Rosenbergs vastly aided their production of the =
atomic bomb.  Other evidence shows some of what the Rosenbergs did in =
the spy ring, specifically how certain information was transferred from =
David Greenglass and Julius Rosenberg to Soviet Officials working in =
America.
    Even though the Rosenbergs appear to have been involved in an =
espionage ring, scholars view the reactions of the federal government =
and the justice system towards the case as far too harsh.  The judge who =
sentenced the Rosenbergs to death called their crime "worse than =
murder," and all their appeals to the Supreme Court and Presidents =
Truman and Eisenhower for clemency were denied.  The case was occuring =
during the beginning of the McCarthy era of politics and the resurgence =
of Conservatism in America.  Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican from =
Wisconsin, began to blacklist liberal federal government officials, =
members of labor unions, college professors, and people in the =
entertainment industry.  His accusations combined with the effects of =
the Rosenberg and Alger Hiss cases linked liberal philosophies with =
Communism.  McCarthy's patriotic ravings appealed to Catholics, =
midwestern and southern party members concerned with the rapid spread of =
Communism at home and abroad.  McCarthy, Richard Nixon, and other =
prominent conservative Republicans began to publicly decry the linkages =
between the Communist and Democratic parties, and many people believed =
them.  Their rhetoric proved to be harmful to the Democratic Party, =
which feared McCarthy's attacks and had to become more conservative or =
face defeat by defending liberal philosophies of the New Deal era.  =20