Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg (September 28, 1915 ? June 19, 1953) and Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 ? June 19, 1953) were American Communists who were thrust into the world spotlight when they were tried, convicted, and executed for spying for the Soviet Union. The accuracy of these charges remains controversial, though decades later, Soviet communications decrypted by the VENONA project became publicly available and appeared to indicate that at least Julius Rosenberg was actively involved in espionage (although they provided no new evidence that he performed the specific acts of espionage for which he was convicted). Specifically, the couple were charged with conspiracy to commit espionage and were accused of passing nuclear weapons secrets to Russian agents.

Posthumous revelations

In 1995, the National Security Agency publicly released documents from the VENONA project, an effort to decrypt intercepted communications between Soviet agents and the NKVD/KGB. A 1944 cable from New York to Moscow makes it clear that Julius Rosenberg was engaged in espionage, though the importance of their effort is not clear, particularly considering that the Soviets were receiving information on the Atomic bomb from Klaus Fuchs and Donald Maclean. Ethel's involvement is not clear from the VENONA transcripts. A document from November 27, 1944 http://www.cia.gov/csi/books/venona/b73.gif specifically about Ethel lists her as a "fellowcountryman" and claims that she was aware of Julius' work, and asks for advice in whether she should be "used" or not. Ethel was apparently never assigned a code name — Julius was always referred to as "ANTENNA" or "LIBERAL" — which has cast doubt onto her significance and involvement.

Related Topics:
1995 - National Security Agency - VENONA project - NKVD - KGB - 1944 - Klaus Fuchs - Donald Maclean - November 27

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In his posthumous memoirs, published in 1990, Nikita Khrushchev praised the pair for their "very significant help in accelerating the production of our atomic bomb." Whether this was in fact the case, however, has been disputed. http://www.cnn.com/US/9703/16/rosenbergs/ The quality of the information given to the Soviets, as reported by Greenglass, was also quite poor in comparison to the information given by Fuchs, who had a much more intimate understanding of the research being done, as revealed by records of Fuchs' detailed transmissions in the now-opened Soviet archives.

Related Topics:
Memoirs - 1990 - Nikita Khrushchev

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David Greenglass was spared execution in exchange for his testimony. He spent 10 years in prison and was released in 1960, and has lived under an assumed name since his release. Decades later, in late 2000, Greenglass claimed that he had committed perjury and falsely implicated his sister Ethel. Greenglass said he chose to turn in his sister in order to protect his wife and children.

Related Topics:
1960 - 2000 - Perjury

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