Ethel Rosenberg
Quick Summary
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens convicted and executed for conspiring to commit espionage. They were the first U.S. civilians to receive the death penalty during peacetime. Active members of the Communist Party, Julius worked as an engineer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps, while Ethel was a clerk. During World War II, they allegedly passed U.S. military and nuclear information to the Soviet Union.
The primary evidence against them came from Ethel's brother, David Greenglass, who testified he provided nuclear weapon information that the Rosenbergs passed to a Soviet courier. After years of appeals, they were executed in 1953. Later, Soviet intelligence records confirmed Julius's involvement, though some testimony suggested Ethel's role might have been exaggerated.12
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