Rosenbergs Sentenced: Cold War Espionage Reaches Climax
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death on April 5, 1951, for conspiring to transmit atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. Judge Irving Kaufman told them their crime was "worse than murder" because it had given the Soviets the bomb and caused the Korean War. The case divided America. Declassified Venona intercepts later confirmed that Julius ran a spy ring that passed classified information about radar, sonar, and the atomic bomb to Moscow. Ethel's involvement remains disputed; the evidence suggests she knew about the espionage but her brother David Greenglass recanted testimony that she typed classified notes. They were electrocuted at Sing Sing on June 19, 1953.
April 5, 1951
75 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on April 5
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