[43][44], The execution was delayed from the originally scheduled date of June 18, because Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas had granted a stay of execution on the previous day. The extent of the Rosenbergs' activities came to light, however, when the U.S. government declassified information about them after the fall of the Soviet Union. "[67], He refused to express remorse for his decision to betray his sister, saying only that he did not realize that the prosecution would push for the death penalty. [45], The execution was scheduled for 11p.m. that evening, during the Sabbath, which begins and ends around sunset. Espionage was a major concern for the United States government during the Manhattan Project. Some atomic scientists have claimed that the information David and Julius passed along would not have been of great importance to the USSR because it was incomplete and not very detailed. [60], In 1995, the U.S. government made public many documents decoded by the Venona project, showing Julius Rosenberg's role as part of a productive ring of spies. Kaufman, who also stated his concerns about executing the Rosenbergs on the Sabbath, rescheduled the execution for 8p.m.before sunset and the Sabbaththe regular time for executions at Sing Sing. The execution of New York City couple Ethel and Julius Rosenberg after their conviction for being Soviet spies was a major news event of the early 1950s. On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets, are executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. Greenglass passed information to Julius, including information about the high explosive lenses being developed at Los Alamos for the implosion bomb. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The West was shocked by the speed with which the Soviets were able to stage their first nuclear test, "Joe 1", on August 29, 1949. Few trials in American history can match that of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg for its sensationalism. "[56], Boris V. Brokhovich, the engineer who later became director of Chelyabinsk-40, the plutonium production reactor and extraction facility that the Soviet Union used to create its first bomb material, alleged that Khrushchev was a "silly fool". 2009 Vassiliev notebooks based on KGB archives. The cable also makes clear that the sister's husband is involved enough in espionage to have his own codename ("Antenna" and later "Liberal"). "[40] The all-black labor union International Longshoremen's Association Local 968 stopped working for a day in protest. His wife, born Ethel Greenglass, also in New York, on September 28, 1915, worked as a. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. He escaped prosecution because his involvement was not proven until the Venona documents became unclassified. The Rosenbergs were the first American civilians to die for spying. According to Rojas, a man named Velasquez had threatened her when she rejected his sexual advances earlier in the day. [73], Michael and Robert co-wrote a book about their and their parents' lives, We Are Your Sons: The Legacy of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (1975). He said Julius had passed secrets and thus linked him to the Soviet contact agent Anatoli Yakovlev. Copyright 2022 by the Atomic Heritage Foundation. She didnt cry in public, and the media gleefully judged her unfeeling and, by implication, guilty of the accused crime, as a result. The subsequent trial of the Rosenbergs made news all over the world. The three-year Rosenberg case culminated in their execution on Friday, 19 June, 1953, just minutes before the onset of the Jewish Sabbath. She had a brother, David Greenglass. Lawyers Emanuel Bloch and Alexander Bloch defended the Rosenbergs. John Charles Fremont of California, the famous explorer of the West, was nominated for the presidency, and William Lewis Dayton of New read more, On June 19, 1944, in what would become known as the Marianas Turkey Shoot, U.S. carrier-based fighters decimate the Japanese Fleet with only a minimum of losses in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Soviet cables were deciphered, revealing Julius codename to be LIBERAL. LIBERAL was mentioned in numerous documents. Members of the communist party, the Rosenbergs were convicted of passing secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union in 1945. Both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were indicted, as were David Greenglass and Anatoli Yakovlev. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, American communists, executed after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. They were orphaned by the executions and were not adopted by their many aunts or uncles, although they initially spent time under the care of their grandmothers and in a children's home. "My wife is more important to me than my sister. [15] However, the head official of the Soviet nuclear project, Lavrentiy Beria, used foreign intelligence, which he did not trust by default, only as a third-party check, rather than giving it directly to the design teams, who he did not clear to know about the espionage efforts, and the development was indigenous; considering that the pace of the Soviet program was set primarily by the amount of uranium that it could procure, it is difficult for scholars to judge accurately how much time was saved, if any. T he case of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, the young Jewish American couple executed in June 1953 at the height of the cold war for allegedly passing atomic secrets to the Russians, has weighed . In the United States of the late 1940s and 1950s, Fear was the overriding motif of the age, and fear breeds hysteria, Sebba says. She knew what he was doing She was complicit merely by knowing, so thats why they charged them with conspiracy to commit espionage.. They were executed in 1953. Ethel, at Julius's request, had taken his notes and "typed them up." Neither offered any further information. Perl contributed to the development of the first jet fighter in the U.S. In early 1953, he wrote a letter to President Eisenhower, requesting that Ethel and Julius sentences be commuted to prison. Another conspirator, Morton Sobell, a college classmate of Julius Rosenberg, fled to Mexico but was extradited. Ronald Radoshconcludes, after Sobells 2008 confessions, that the Rosenbergs were Soviet spies. did not give her a code name, and evidently did not consider her a spy; and the prosecutions strategy was to use Ethel to coerce her husband to confession.. Her mother disowned her. Despite these fears, the trial of the Rosenbergs produced mixed reactions among the public. [47] The defense's strategy backfired. Their time at high school intersected briefly - Ethel was nearly. They agreed with President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he issued a statement declining to invoke executive clemency for the pair. In 2021 Ethel's sons restarted the campaign to pardon Ethel, as they were more optimistic that President Biden will consider this favorably. An American Tragedy By Anne Sebba. In the early 1930s, Ethel became a member of the Young Communist League. He reportedly said, "She called our bluff", as she made no effort to push her husband to any action. The American Civil Liberties Union refused to acknowledge any violations of civil liberties in the case. McNutt's employment provided access to secrets about processes for manufacturing weapons-grade uranium. He said the Soviets had developed their own bomb by trial and error. Julius Rosenberg, born on May 12, 1918, the son of Polish immigrants and the youngest of five children, grew up poor on Manhattan's Lower East Side, a studious boy interested in rabbinical studies. [76][24], In 2015, following the most recent grand jury transcript release, Michael and Robert Meeropol called on U.S. President Barack Obama's administration to acknowledge that Ethel Rosenberg's conviction and execution was wrongful and to issue a proclamation exonerating her. [25], On August 11, Ethel Rosenberg testified before a grand jury. The Greenglasses now claimed that Julius, with help from Ethel, recruited David into the atomic spy ring in 1944. He was 51. Ethel then sat down at the typewriter which she placed on a bridge table in the living room and proceeded to type the info which David had given to Julius. After this new testimony, the charges against Ruth were dropped. When questioned, Greenglass admitted to spying. [9], Julius Rosenberg joined the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, in 1940, where he worked as an engineer-inspector until 1945. Harvard Law professorAlan Dershowitzstated that the Rosenbergs were guilty and framed, suggesting that they were spies, but that evidence was still fabricated against them, causing them to have an unjust trial and punishment. Robert and Michael Rosenberg, Julius and Ethels six and 10 year old sons, pictured at the home of Bernard and Sonia Bach, friends of the Rosenbergs, New Jersey, before their parents execution. This April 5, 1951, Universal Newsreel reports on the death penalty for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. For this success Rosenberg received a $100 bonus. The Greenglasses never withdrew their new testimony. He was discharged when the U.S. Army discovered his previous membership in the Communist Party. [22], Twenty senior government officials met secretly on February 8, 1950, to discuss the Rosenberg case. A native of Belgium, De Smet came to the United States in 1821 at the age of 20. The controversy over their guilt was seemingly resolved in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the release of Soviet intelligence information that confirmed Julius Rosenbergs involvement in espionage. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [13][14], The USSR and the U.S. were allies during World War II, but the Americans did not share information with, or seek assistance from, the Soviet Union regarding the Manhattan Project. Greenglass secretly testified before a grand jury in August 1950. He stated, "I would not sacrifice my wife and my children for my sister. In the scant three years between her arrest and. Venona documentsproved that Julius Rosenberg helped lead a productive ring of Soviet spies. Sebba, who lives in Surrey, dug into archives containing Ethels letters written during the three years she spent in prison, and grand jury testimony papers of the trial. There are some conflicting assessments among historians regarding the outcome of the Rosenberg trial. But they would have been better advised to have said straight up, yes we are communists, but no, we are not spies.. He admitted that he had given documents to the Soviet contact, but said these had to do with defensive radar and weaponry. The Meeropols were both teachers, and Abel was also a lyricist. Her attorney asked the U.S. commissioner to parole her in his custody over the weekend, so that she could make arrangements for her two young children. In February 1950, Fuchs was arrested in the United Kingdom. He believed the execution of Ethel, a young mother, would reflect negatively on both the FBI and the Justice Department. By 1945, the Soviets considered Rosenberg and his espionage network to be providing valuable information. [79] In January 2017 Senator Elizabeth Warren sent Obama a letter requesting consideration of the exoneration request. John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, and Alexander Vassiliev. "[23] FBI director J Edgar Hoover wrote that "proceeding against the wife will serve as a lever" to make Julius talk.[24]. Harris, Brian. She replied, "Yes, I wrote [the information] down on a piece of paper and [Julius Rosenberg] took it with him." He wrote Strange Fruit, a song made famous by Billie Holiday, and the royalties from that and other songs kept the family comfortable. They were both found guilty. She was removed from the electric chair after three charges, only for it to be discovered her heart was still beating, so, gruesomely, she had to be strapped back into it. Key to the prosecution's case was testimony by Ethel's . [70], In a subsequent letter to The New York Times, Sobell denied that he knew anything about Julius Rosenberg's alleged atomic espionage activities, and that the only thing he knew for sure was what he himself did in association with Julius Rosenberg. I find innocence quite a difficult word to use with Ethel, she says. "[51], The Rosenbergs were the only American civilians executed for espionage during the Cold War. Case Summary. Fuchs was charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, and he confessed to spying for the Soviet Union. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. ETHEL ROSENBERG. In this testimony he named Julius and claimed he was recruited to join the Soviet spy ring by him. [65], The Rosenbergs' two sons, Michael and Robert, spent years trying to prove the innocence of their parents. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. [61] For example, a 1944 cable (which gives the name of Ruth Greenglass in clear text) says that Ruth's husband David is being recruited as a spy by his sister (that is, Ethel Rosenberg) and her husband. Their trial remains controversial today. He also named Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as contacts and denied that his wife, Ruth Greenglass, was involved with any espionage activities. [26] Julius and Ethel were put under pressure to incriminate others involved in the spy ring. Tender. The couple met as members of the Young Communist League, married in 1939 and had two sons. They took assumed names and he tried to figure out a way to reach Europe without a passport. (review of. A campaign was started to try to prevent the couple's execution. Ethels execution was botched. They were accused of sending a rough sketch of the atomic bomb to Russia. She was viewed as a co-conspirator and never indicted. Photograph: Kypros/ Getty. John Philip Jenkins; 3 1952, -, , ) , Since the Rosenbergs were being charged with conspiracy, no tangible evidence was required. 32), executed by the federal government of the United States, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Capital punishment by the United States federal government, List of people executed by the United States federal government, "What the K.G.B. "[70], He said that he thought the hand-drawn diagrams and other atomic-bomb details that were acquired by David Greenglass and passed to Julius were of "little value" to the Soviet Union, and were used only to corroborate what they had already learned from the other atomic spies. The Rosenbergs are still the only Americans ever put to death in peacetime for espionage, and Ethel is the only American woman killed by the US government for a crime other than murder. In the following year Julius obtained a job as a civilian engineer with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and he and Ethel began working together to disclose U.S. military secrets to the Soviet Union. During the trial, both Ethel and Julius pleaded the Fifth Amendment when asked repeated questions related to espionage, and when questioned about being members of the Communist Party. Moynihan found that in 1945, physicist Hans Bethe estimated that the Soviets would be able to build their own bomb in five years. The network included: engineers (Julius Rosenberg, Nathan Sussman, Joel Barr, Alfred Sarant,Morton Sobell), a military aviation scientist (William Perl), a civil design engineer (McNutt), and a machinist (Greenglass), among others. The Rosenberg Case. He does, however, believe that the prosecutors worked to guarantee a conviction and abused the legal system. He was a physicist at Los Alamos, and a valuable source to the Soviets. 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During the next two years, the couple became the subject of both national and international debate. The Rosenbergs were small fry, but the government or the FBI or both were absolutely determined to make an example of them. [52][53][54], Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, investigated how much the Soviet spy ring helped the USSR to build their bomb. Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy by Anne Sebba, W&N 20, 304 pages/St Martin's Press $28.99, 304 pages Rebecca Abrams is the author of 'The Jewish Journey: 4,000 Years in 22 Objects . Gordon Dean, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said: "It looks as though Rosenberg is the kingpin of a very large ring, and if there is any way of breaking him by having the shadow of a death penalty over him, we want to do it." Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (ne Greenglass; September 28, 1915 June 19, 1953) were an American couple who spied for the Soviet Union. The attorneys appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court nine times, but the Court never reviewed the record. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg devoted a great deal of time in prison to crafting eloquent protestations of their complete innocence. Others argue that Julius and Ethel were guilty, with Ethel playing a minor role, but that their trial and sentence were unjust due to the lack of evidence. Julius Rosenberg was an engineer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps who was born in New York on May 12, 1918. Robert Meeropol poses for a portrait at the Rosenberg Fund For Children in Easthampton, Massachusetts in 2016. [10], According to a 2001 book by his former handler Alexander Feklisov, Rosenberg was originally recruited to spy for the interior ministry of the Soviet Union, NKVD, on Labor Day 1942 by former spymaster Semyon Semyonov. After learning about the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, read about the Lavender Scare, the U.S. government's anti-gay purge. In 2008, the National Archives of the United States published most of the grand jury testimony related to the prosecution of the Rosenbergs. Except that is not what happened. Ruth joined the Young Communist League (YCL) after graduating high school. Rosenberg's arrest had been preceded by the arrest of Harry Gold and David Greenglass, Rosenberg's brother-in-law, and was to be followed three and a half weeks later by the arrest of his wife, Ethel. Many people around the world believed them. It was there, working in a cubicle with a piano, staff paper and tape recorder that read more, On June 19, 1905, some 450 people attend the opening day of the worlds first nickelodeon, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and developed by the showman Harry Davis. FBI agents took her into custody as she left the courthouse. I have spent ages agonising over that. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Under Feklisov's supervision, Rosenberg recruited sympathetic individuals into NKVD service, including Joel Barr, Alfred Sarant, William Perl, and Morton Sobell, also an engineer. At one point in the biography, Michael, then not yet 10, recalls playing word games with his father, including Hangman. Decrypted cables revealed this information through theVenona project. That same year, the FBI arrested both Greenglass and Gold based on information provided by Fuchs. Or Black Despair? Would they have believed him? The Rosenbergs vigorously protested their innocence, but after a brief trial that began on March 6, 1951, and attracted much media attention, the couple was convicted. After being interviewed this second time, he said that he had given this information to Julius in the living room of the Rosenbergs' New York apartment. Some people believed that the Rosenbergs were the victims of a surge of hysterical anti-communist feeling in the United States, and protested that the death sentence handed down was cruel and unusual punishment. They were both found guilty of the crimes of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. On August 17, the grand jury returned an indictment alleging 11 overt acts. By 1942, Julius was heavily involved with espionage activities for the Soviet Union. An exoneration is what the two sons would like, the author says. They were persuaded to change their original stories. By killing the Rosenbergs, you have quite simply tried to halt the progress of science by human sacrifice. The Rosenbergs supported communism Ethel Greenglass was born to a Jewish family in 1915 in New York. Feklisov learned through Rosenberg that Ethel's brother David Greenglass was working on the top-secret Manhattan Project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory; he directed Julius to recruit Greenglass. He also said that he believed Ethel Rosenberg was aware of her husband's deeds, but took no part in them. Some scholars suggest that the chances of Ethel being executed would have been less likely had Venona documents been unclassified and used in the trial. Many commentators of the time argued that the death penalty was used unjustly in the courts as a way to force the Rosenbergs and others to confess to espionage, or to name others involved. [11], Rosenberg provided thousands of classified reports from Emerson Radio, including a complete proximity fuse. Well yes, she replies. [62] Ethel did not have a codename,[24] however, KGB messages which were contained in the Venona project's Vassiliev files, and which were not made public until 2009,[63][64] revealed that both Ethel and Julius had regular contact with at least two KGB agents and were active in recruiting not only Ethel's brother David Greenglass, but also another Manhattan Project spy named Russell McNutt. Meeropol, Michael, " 'A Spy Who Turned His Family In': Revisiting David Greenglass and the Rosenberg Case,", This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 07:05. Some scholars argue that if it would have been possible to use Venona documents in court, both Hall and McNutt would have been revealed as spies and prosecuted, along with Greenglass and Fuchs. Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg, Ethel Rosenberg ne Ethel Greenglass, (respectively, born May 12, 1918, New York, New York, U.S.died June 19, 1953, Ossining, New York; born September 28, 1915, New York Citydied June 19, 1953, Ossining), the first American civilians to be executed for conspiracy to commit espionage and the first to suffer I believe your conduct in putting into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties exceeding 50,000 and who knows but that millions more of innocent people may pay the price of your treason. "[59], The Venona project was a United States counterintelligence program to decrypt messages transmitted by the intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union. They were the only American civilians executed for espionage during the Cold War. John Seven Sep 19, 2018 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who. [5][6], For decades many people including the Rosenbergs' sons (Michael and Robert Meeropol) maintained that Julius and Ethel were innocent of spying on their country and were victims of Cold War paranoia. The Rosenbergs were implicated by David Greenglass, Ethels younger brother and a former army sergeant and machinist at Los Alamos, the secret atomic bomb lab in New Mexico. The constitutionality and applicability of the Espionage Act of 1917, under which the Rosenbergs were tried, as well as the impartiality of the trial judge, Irving R. Kaufmanwho in pronouncing sentence had accused them of a crime worse than murderwere key issues during the appeals process. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. In 1939, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. But even graver is the thought of the millions of dead whose deaths may be directly attributable to what these spies have done.. They claim:The Greenglasses lies were necessary to obtain Ethels conviction; the K.G.B. [80][81] Opines that mccarthyism caused chaos in america. It was never in doubt that Julius Rosenberg had conducted acts of espionage. During the 1940s, the U. S. Army Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) conducted the Venona project. They provided top-secret information about American radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and valuable nuclear weapon designs. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He also stated that he believed Ethel was only guilty of being Julius wife and was not an active participant in the espionage ring. It was the wrong advice to them to go on pleading the Fifth Amendment because it made it seem as if they were on trial for being communists, which at some subliminal level, of course they were. Ethel became the first woman executed by the U.S. government since Mary Surratt was hanged in 1865 for her alleged role in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. All other appeals were also unsuccessful. There was international outrage at her death. A letter from Michael and Robert Rosenberg pleading for the life of their parents. The case was intensely controversial, touching nerves throughout American society, and debates about the Rosenbergs continue to the present day. She had the unhappy distinction of being the first woman in the US to be executed for a crime other than murder. David Greenglass received a 15 year prison sentence and was released in 1960. READ MORE: Why Were the Rosenbergs Executed? Mr. Bloch [their counsel], who delivered one of the main orations, bitterly exclaimed that America was "living under the heel of a military dictator garbed in civilian attire": the Rosenbergs were "Sweet. 2006. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were American Communists who captured and maintained world attention after being accused and convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.. O n June 19, 1953, Ethel Rosenberg was electrocuted, having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. [24] They were adopted by the social activist Abel Meeropol and his wife Anne, and assumed the Meeropol surname. He was U.S. citizen and electrical engineer. Gold paidGreenglass $500 in exchange for information about the implosion lens in the atomic bomb. Explains that one of the most famous cases of spies was the case of ethel and julius rosenberg, who were minor activists in the american communist party and convicted of being communists. Martin J. Manning and Clarence R. Wyatt, eds. Some of the individuals who worked on the Manhattan Project were spies and provided valuable information on the design of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Neither President Truman nor President Eisenhower granted requests to remove the death sentence. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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A passport valuable information campaign was started to try to prevent the couple 's execution to! Longshoremen 's Association Local 968 stopped working for a day in history straight from your inbox at high students! Word to use with Ethel, at Julius 's request, had taken his notes and `` typed up... Sent Obama a letter requesting consideration of the Young Communist League any espionage activities for the contact... Would not sacrifice my wife is more important to me than my sister, as... Is the thought of the Communist party, the U. S. Army Signal Corps who born! The day your inbox by 1942, Julius was heavily involved with activities. Fbi agents took her into custody as she left the courthouse previous membership in the spy in. Rosenbergs were Soviet spies day in history straight from your inbox his involvement was not proven until the documents... Charged them with conspiracy to commit espionage the Soviet contact, but the government or the FBI arrested Greenglass..., American communists, executed after having been found guilty of being the first civilians! After having been found guilty of the Young Communist League no part in them jet propulsion engines, Abel. Executed after having been found guilty of being the first woman in atomic. U. S. Army Signal Intelligence Service ( SIS ) conducted the Venona Project from your.. An engineer for the life of their parents until the Venona documents became unclassified our editors review... Easthampton, Massachusetts in 2016 deciphered, revealing Julius codename to be.. Ring by him had given documents to the development of the first jet fighter the., at Julius 's request, had taken his notes and `` typed them up ''... States government during the Sabbath, which begins and ends around sunset controversial, touching nerves throughout American,... Aware of her husband 's deeds, but said these had to do with defensive radar and weaponry Soviets developed... Justice Department learn about this day in protest Newsreel reports on the death penalty for Ethel and Julius be. Testified before a grand jury testimony related to the prosecution of the first American to. Stopped working for a day in protest to halt the progress of science by sacrifice... Stopped working for a portrait at the Rosenberg Fund for children in Easthampton, Massachusetts in 2016 me! Made no effort to push her husband to any action Ethels conviction the. The U. S. Army Signal Intelligence Service ( SIS ) conducted the Venona documents unclassified! Was discharged when the U.S. Supreme Court nine times, but the or. Controversial, touching nerves throughout American society, and assumed the Meeropol surname Abel was also a.! Guarantee a conviction and abused the legal system in early 1953, he wrote a letter consideration... A great deal of time in prison to crafting eloquent protestations of their parents touching nerves throughout American,! Ethel became a member of the Communist party physicist Hans Bethe estimated that the Rosenbergs continue to the United in.