-
Ethel Greenglass is Born, 1915
Ethel Greenglass was born to a Jewish family in New York City. She was originally an actress and singer, but eventually took a desk job at a shipping company. She became involved in labor disputes and joined the Young Communist League, where she met Julius in 1936. -
Period: to
The Rosenbergs
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were Americans who spied for the Soviet Union and were executed for conspiracy to commit espionage. They were involved in the transmission of information about top-secret military technology and things related to the atomic bomb, which were of very important value to the Soviet nuclear weapons program. -
Julius Rosenberg is Born, 1918
Julius Rosenberg was born to a family of Jewish immigrants in New York City. The family moved to the Lower East Side when Julius was 11. His parents worked in shops there, as Julius attended Seward Park High School. Julius was a leader in the Young Communist League while at City College of New York. In 1939, he graduated from CCNY with an electrical engineering degree. -
Julius Rosenberg is Fired from the U.S. Army Signal Corps, 1945
In early 1945, Julius was fired from his job with the Army Signal Corps when his membership in the Communist Party came out. In 1942, Julius and Ethel had become full members in the American Communist Party. By 1943 the Rosenbergs dropped out of the Communist Party, however, to pursue in Julius's espionage activities. -
The Arrest of Julius Rosenberg, 1950
Julius Rosenberg was arrested on suspicion of espionage after he had been named by Sgt. David Greenglass, Ethel's younger brother who was stationed at Los Alamos, New Mexico. David also confessed to passing secret information to the USSR through Harry Gold. -
The Arrest of Ethel Rosenberg, 1950
On August 11, 1950, a few weeks after Julius was arrested, Ethel was also taken into custody on the charge of conspiracy to commit espionage. More specifically, they were accused of heading a spy ring that passed top-secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviets. -
The Rosenberg Trial, 1951
The trial attracted a lot of media attention and generated a large response from people who believed the Rosenbergs were clearly guilty. However, there were others who believed them to be innocence. The prosecution's main witness, David Greenglass, said that Ethel, had typed notes that contained U.S. nuclear secrets. He also said that the notes were later given to Harry Gold, who would then give them to Anatoly A. Yakovlev, who was the Soviet vice consul in New York City. -
The Rosenberg Trial Ends, 1951
A judge sentenced them to death and they were taken to Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, to await execution. During the next two years, the couple became the subject of national and international debates. Many believed that the Rosenbergs were the victims of the paranoia in the United States and protested the death sentence. Most Americans believed, however, that the Rosenbergs were guilty and deserved their punishment. -
The Execution of the Rosenbergs, 1953
Julius Rosenberg was executed first at about 8 p.m. at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York and just a few minutes after, his body was removed from the the electric chair, Ethel Rosenberg was strapped to the chair. She was pronounced dead at 8:16 p.m. They both denied everything and said that they were both innocent all the way up until their deaths. Ethel was just 37 years old and Julius was 35 years old. Their sons Michael and Robert were only 10 and 6 years old.
