On this day, April 5, 1951, Federal Judge Irving R. Kaufman sentenced Ethel and Julius Rosenberg to death, one week after a jury convicted them of conspiracy to commit espionage.
In his sentencing speech, Judge Kaufman said, "I consider your crimes worse than murder" and that the Rosenbergs' "love for their cause dominated their lives – it was even greater than their love for their children.”
On this day: March 29, 1951 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage.
Last year on the 70th anniversary of the conviction, RFC Founder Robert Meeropol shared his thoughts for Emily Tamkin's New Statesman article on the case. This important piece focuses on what the Rosenbergs' convictions expose about the U.S.'s longstanding history of committing injustices in the name of national security.
Today’s Rosenberg Mention of the Day highlights the more controversial work of pop artist Andy Warhol.
“The world loves Andy's bright and easily-digestible pop art, but there is a much darker side to his portfolio that many have never been exposed to. For our first example, let's take a look at Electric Chair, a project that Andy worked on as a response to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg ... Although empty of anything except the chair, the image is haunting, to say the least.”
Today's Rosenberg Mention of the Day comes from a beautiful article about RFC Advisory Board member Angela Davis and a lifetime dedicated to revolution.
She discusses that while imprisoned in the 1970s, she thought of Sacco and Vanzetti and the Rosenbergs, "political figures who have been put to death," and knew that it was possible the same fate could happen to her.
Rosenberg Mention of the Day // A new podcast episode of "Now What?" with Carole Zimmer features Michael Meeropol, older son to Julius and Ethel, to discuss his parents and his childhood. The show hosts "conversations with extraordinary people about their lives and how they navigate all the bumps in the road."
This episode is available now on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher and online here: bit.ly/3BnRXEu
Congratulations to Anne Sebba: her biography of Ethel Rosenberg was just short listed for the 2022 Wingate Literary Prize!
The UK-based honor “is awarded to the best book, fiction or non-fiction, to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader.”
The winner will be announced February 16th; good luck to Anne Sebba! Learn more about the prize and the other finalists at https://www.thejc.com/news/news/wingate-literary-prize-short-list-relea…
We are honored to learn that The Guardian named this article one of their "US editor's pick: best of 2021." It was originally published on June 19th, on the 68th anniversary of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's executions. It is a beautifully written piece on Ethel and Julius and Anne Sebba's biography, "Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy," and includes interviews with their two sons, Robert and Michael Meeropol.
This excerpt from the article is one of Executive Director Jenn Meeropol’s favorites of the year:
It’s a rainy, fall day. Perfect reading weather. 🍂 Returning to this brilliantly written biography by Anne Sebba, "Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy."
In one passage, Sebba relates the story of Hilda Bernstein, a Jewish, political activist and Communist party member living in South Africa, to Ethel's story.
Also a mother, and also arrested, Hilda shares a reflection on the tensions involved in being an activist parent, "In the long run the most important thing as far as the children are concerned is what sort of country they will have to live in.'"
Rosenberg Mention of the Day, courtesy of an excellent review of Anne Sebba’s biography of Ethel (we especially appreciate the reviewers conclusion re: Anne & Abel Meeropol):
“Nearly 70 years after their execution for having allegedly passed atomic secrets to the USSR, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg remain a prominent presence in the American consciousness, perhaps because their story sits so uneasily in the American conscience.
Rosenberg Mention of the Day: A review of Anne Sebba’s biography by Martha Sonnenberg that “must, of necessity, begin with a personal note..."
"When I was 13 years old, my mother took, from the deep recesses of her chest of drawers, a copy of The Death House Letters of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg:
"(1) We sat down together on our sofa, and we went through the letters. She told me how the Rosenbergs had been executed, by electric chair, in 1953, being accused of giving secret information to Russia.