ETHEL AND JULIUS ROSENBERG
American fears of Communism did not die with Sacco and Vanzetti. In fact, they are evident in another famous trial, in which Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were accused of treason against the United States. After the Soviet Union exploded their first atomic weapon in 1949, amid the first rumblings of the Cold War, American intelligence officers discovered that information about the U.S. atomic weapons program had been leaked to the Soviets. A fervent search for the source led agents to an employee of a British atomic agency, who in turn led agents to the Rosenbergs. Julius had worked as an engineer for the Army, and both Rosenbergs came under suspicion because of then-admitted Communist sympathies.
The prosecution's chief witness during the 1951 trial was David Greenglass, who had worked as a machinist at Los Alamos. Greenglass, in exchange for a reduced sentence, admitted passing secrets to the Soviets and declared he was recruited by his sister, Ethel, and her husband Julius Rosenberg. Since Greenglass testified that atomic secrets were exchanged during wartime, the Rosenbergs could receive the death penalty under the Espionage Act of 1917.
The prosecution established that information had reached the Soviets, but failed to fully prove that the Rosenbergs were in any way involved. In fact, Greenglass was the only person who claimed to have any knowledge of the Rosenbergs, and it is rare that an admitted felon's uncorroborated testimony is given such credence. Unfortunately, the defense did not capitalize on this and other weaknesses in the prosecution's case. In addition, when the Rosenbergs took the stand, they refused to answer questions about their membership in the Communist Party, tainting them in the eyes of the jury and the judge. Both Rosenbergs were found guilty, and both received the death penalty.
Much like Sacco and Vanzetti, the fate of the Rosenbergs attracted emotionally charged international attention. The case was appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court, but the Court declined the hear the case. President Eisenhower denied clemency, even though President Auriol of France, Pope Pius XII, and Albert Einstein asked him to pardon the Rosenbergs. Defense attorneys pleaded with the Supreme Court to reconsider, but the Court refused. Even when the Court finally agreed to rule on the case, it voted 6 to 3 to allow the execution to proceed, and, amid intense media visibility, on June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were put to death in the electric chair.
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