arresting him. There are different theories as to why Julius
did not seize the chance to flee the FBI. One theory is that
he did not think that David would break down so far as to
mention even his own family. Another theory is that it
would have taken weeks to alert some of his contacts
without leading the FBI to them. (Meerpool 37) On July
12, Greenglass, with the urging of his lawyers, had his
second extradition hearing. This led the media to think that
Greenglass was leaning towards pleading guilty. According
to Ruth, David’s wife, Ethel visited her to find out what
David’s plans were and if he was going to indict her
husband, Julius. (Meerpool 42) The FBI, after Greenglass
made his statements, went to James McInerney of the
Justice Department, who agreed there was now enough
evidence to charge Julius Rosenberg with conspiracy to
commit espionage. When Richard Whelan, assistant special
agent in charge of the New York office, heard McInerney’s
ruling, he sent Norton to file a complaint before federal
judge John F. X. McGohey. Immediately after J. Edgar
Hoover heard that Whelan tried to delay the arrest, he
grew infuriated. He suspected the reason for the delay was
in order to tip off the press so that the story would be
covered in the next day’s papers. Hoover feared that when
the press found out, Rosenberg might be tipped-off and
flee at the last second. (Milton 92) On Tuesday, July 17,
1950, when Rosenberg was arrested, it was in full view of
his aghast family; his two sons standing agape, watching
their father dragged out by two officers. Julius and Ethel
until the bitter end maintained their innocence. They never
pleaded guilty nor even considered it. The FBI, after
searching Julius’ house, had evidence that the espionage
ring that Greenglass talked about was true. In order to
force Rosenberg to disclose names of other spies, Hoover
suggetsed that Ethel be arrested, and be used as leverage
to force Julius to talk. (Mitlon 93) Ethel Rosenberg On
August 11, Ethel Rosenberg was arrested and bail was set
at $100,000-the same huge amount as her husband. Ethel’s
lawyer was Bloch’s father, Alexander Bloch. The reason
for this was that when she was arrested, Manny Bloch was
not in the office, but his father was, so he rushed down to
the station to help Ethel and then later took her case. The
Rosenberg children were sent to Tessie Greenglass, who
very soon complained to the court she could not control
them and more importantly, could not afford them. The
court sent them to the Hebrew Children’s Home in the
Bronx. Most believe that the FBI arrested Ethel in order to
force her husband into confessing. Others disagree and say
that Greenglass’ accusations proved true, and it is possible
that Ethel was a full partner in her husband’s doings and she
was arrested purely on her misdeeds. (Sharlitt 42) The
Trial On March 6, 1951, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg’s trial
began. Their case attracted so much attention because this
was the most publicized spy hunt of all time. Another
reason this case received so much attention was that it
contained all the elements of a high drama trial. The case
had a family feud already familiar to the public, because the
Jewish Daily Forward had published a series of articles on
the Greenglasses. The trial also involved defendants who
firmly claimed their innocence, and the possibility of
eminent atomic scientists testifying. (Milton 98) US
Attorney Irving Saypool was prosecuting the case. Saypool
had made a very good reputation for himself when he
prosecuted Communists, including Alger Hiss and the
eleven Smith Act defendants. From the onset of the trial,
Saypool treated the defendants without the accustomed
court propriety. Irving R. Kaufman, the judge, chose the
jurors himself in a day and a half. Kaufman read a list of
many parties, organizations, and clubs and anybody
affiliated with any of them were excused. Then they were
asked if they were opposed to the death penalty, the use of
atomic-weapons in war, or felt that any information
concerning the development of atomic energy should be
revealed to any Russian satellite country. If they were, they
were excused. (Burkholz 73) In Saypool’s opening words,
he stated, “The loyalty and the allegiance of the Rosenbergs
were not to the country but to Communism, Communism in
this country and throughout the world.” Emanuel Bloch
immediately objected that Saypool’s allusion to communism
was irrelevant because communism was not on trial.
Kaufman said that communism would be allowed in the trial
because it established motive. Saypool also said that they
convinced David Greenglass to become a traitor to his
country, “a modern Benedict Arnorld.” After Saypool’s
very powerful opening statement, the public began to talk
about capital punishment. (Burkholz 75) It is nearly
impossible to convict someone of treason. It was such a
serious crime that the standards of proof are very strict. On
the other hand, it is easy to get a conviction for conspiracy;
it is even sometimes refereed to as the “prosecutor’s
friend.” Hearsay testimony is admissible in trial, and once
the existence of conspiracy is established every conspirator
may be held liable for the acts of the others, even if he does
not have any knowledge of them. In addition, in order to be
convicted, only the conspiracy had to be proven.
(Meerpool 176) The prosecution brought several very
damaging witnesses against the defense: Julius Rosenberg’s
brother-in-law, David Greenglass, and his wife Ruth Printz
Greenglass. Greenglass testified that he passed to his sister
and brother-in-law sketches of the implosion lens, a vital
component of the plutonium bomb. David Greenglass’s
story was corroborated by his wife and another spy, Harry
Gold. Gold testified that he received information from
David Greenglass, and that he passed them on to the
Rosenbergs. These testimonies showed clearly that there
was a plan to spy and to pass secrets. (Milton 103) Max
Elicher testified about a second spy ring which Julius
Rosenberg headed. The second ring was formed to
disclose to the Soviets naval secrets pertaining to
communications instruments. He testified that Julius
Rosenberg recruited him to spy. Nobody knew about the
two conspiracies except for Rosenberg; he was the only
connection between the two. Although Elicher did not say
what information he gave to Rosenberg, it connected Julius
Rosenberg to two spy rings. None of Elicher’s testimony
was refuted except by Rosenberg’s denials. (Milton 104)
After a fourteen day trial, there was no evidence proving
the Rosenberg’s innocence so the jury decided to believe
David Greenglass’, Harry Gold’s, and Max Elicher’s
testimonies. The prosecutors asked the Rosenbergs many
questions about their involvement in the Communist Party in
order to establish motive. They answered most of the
questions with the Fifth Amendment so that their answers
would not incriminate them. This led many people, including
the jurors, to feel very strongly about their guilt. Many
argue that the Rosenbergs were framed and that they were
the perfect people to be framed because of their
involvement in the Communist Party. There are a few
questions as to why Emanuel Bloch did certain things in the
trial. For example, he did not cross-examine Harry Gold.
(Sharlitt 17) For cooperating with the prosecution,
Greenglass’ sentence was for fifteen years of imprisonment,
Gold’s for thirty and Fuch’s for only fourteen. The
Rosenbergs pled not guilty. In March 1951, they became
the first Americans to be sentenced to death on a charge of
espionage in peacetime. (Milton 103) Doubts on the Trial
Some historians say that the government framed the
Rosenbergs, and was aiming for capital punishment. First,
they were not charged with espionage, rather they were
charged and convicted of conspiracy to spy. This was to
the government’s advantage because, as explained
previously, much less proof is necessary for a conviction
for conspiracy. A second reason that historians think that
the government was out to kill the Rosenbergs was
because Saypool, Lane, Cohn, and Kilsheimer were all
assigned to the case. This showed the government’s strong
and special interest in the case. In summary, the charge
against the Rosenbergs, the powerful prosecution, the
well-known anti-Communist prosecutors and the judge, all
support that the government’s objective was to kill the
Rosenbergs. (Sharlitt 23) The reason many people call the
Rosenberg’s executions a legal and fatal error is simple. On
June 19, 1953, the federal government executed the
Rosenbergs. The Rosenbergs were charged, tried, and
convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917. In 1946, the
Atomic Energy Act was passed. It required that spies who
passed atomic secrets be executed only after a jury’s
recommendations. From the day the Rosenbergs were
indicted to three days before their execution, this act was
ignored. Astonishingly, nobody realized, including the
prosecutors, defendants, or any judges, that this was being
ignored. A lawyer from the West Coast raised the issue
that suggested to somebody that the Rosenbergs were
being wrongly executed. Even after the issue was raised,
the Supreme Court ignored it and the Rosenbergs were
executed anyway. Still today, there is an ongoing and bitter
controversy as to why the Rosenbergs were put to death.
(Sharlitt 27) Bibliography Allen, Thomas, and Norman
Polmar. Merchants of Treason. New York: Delacorte
Press, 1988. Burkholz, Herbert, and Clifford Irving. Spy
The Story of Modern Espionage. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company, 1969. Eisenhower, Dwight. Mandate
For Change. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc.,
1963. Milton, Joyce, and Ronald Rodash. The Rosenberg
File. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. Meeropol,
Michael, and Robert Meeropol. We Are Your Sons.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1975. Sharlitt,
Joseph. Fatal Error. New York: Macmillan Publishing
Company, 1989.