Julius Rosenberg Biography

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The Rosenbergs changed the course of American history by their disclosure of critical secrets of the United States to the Soviet Union. After World War II, the American people became very concerned about the spread of communism, and the United States government was worried that the Soviet Union could become a serious international threat if they possessed the knowledge to develop atomic weapons. In 1949, the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic bomb (biography.com editors, “Julius Rosenberg Biography”). The United States government launched an in-depth investigation to discover how the Soviet Union could obtain the knowledge and details to create an atomic weapon so quickly. The United States intelligence agencies were convinced that …show more content…

Julius followed a career in engineering, and in 1939, he graduated from City College with a degree in electrical engineering. He later joined the Army Signal Corps where he obtained a position working on radar equipment (Atomic Archive, “Julius and Ethel Rosenberg”). Ethel wanted to become a singer and actress, but the difficult financial times forced her to abandon her dreams and obtain a job as a secretary in a shipping company. Unhappy with her financial and economic circumstances, Ethel joined the Young Communist League, which is where she met Julius. Julius was quickly moving up the ranks of the Young Communist League and became a dedicated member of the organization. Ethel and Julius got married in 1939, and Julius obtained a new position as a junior engineer with the Army Signal Corps. They later had two sons, Michael who was born in 1943, and Robert who was born in 1947 (Crime Investigation, “The …show more content…

When it was discovered that the Rosenbergs were members of the Communist Party, Julius lost his job with the Army Signal Corps, and their lives came under tremendous scrutiny. Ethel’s brother, David, was a member of the United States Army and was assigned to work on the Manhattan Project. When the Soviet Union detonated their first Atomic Bomb in August of 1949, the United States government kicked-off a full scale manhunt to find the spies responsible for leaking information to the Soviet Union (biography.com editors, “Julius Rosenberg Biography”). The U.S. Army’s Signal Intelligence Services broke a code that was used to transmit secret information to the Soviet Union. This led them to David Greenglass, who was the first person caught in the case. David quickly implicated Julius Rosenberg, and on July 17, 1950, Julius was arrested for the presumption of espionage. Less than a month later his wife, Ethel, was arrested as

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