Julius And Ethel Rosenburg Trial

In the years following the end of World War II, America faced a new conflict within the country. While tensions between America and the Soviet Union grew, a hysteria over the perceived threat of communism infected Americans citizens. Quickly, the fear and panic spread, fueled by Senator McCarthy’s accusation that communist spies worked within the state government. This “Red Scare” marked an era of paranoia and allegations in which the loyalty of three million Americans was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Among the citizen questioned, the most famous were Julius and Ethel Rosenburg, who's trail and execution remain one of the most controversial events to this day. Three years before their marriage, Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Greenglass met as members of the Young Communist League. In 1936, Julius became a leader in the league and four years later, joined the Army Signal Corps to work on radar equipment. Ethel began as an aspiring actress and singer, but eventually became a secretary at a shipping company. Her involvement in labour disputes led her to the Young Communist League. In 1943, the couple became official members of the American Communist Party. Their

He was accused of leading a spy ring responsible for passing top-secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Two months later, Ethel was arrested under the same charges. She was accused of typing nuclear secrets for her husband to pass along to an intermediary. Ethel’s younger brother, Sgt. David Greenglass, implicated the Rosenbergs. Greenglass was machinist at the secret atomic bomb laboratory in New Mexico, Los Alamos. He had confessed to providing confidential knowledge to the Soviets through a courier, Harry Gold, and then testified as the primary witness against his sister and brother-in-law. On August 17, the Rosenbergs were indicted and a trial was set to begin on March 6,