Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

The American couple executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit atomic espionage

Overview

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted in 1951 of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union and executed in June 1953, the only American civilians put to death for spying during the Cold War. Julius ran a network that included his brother in law David Greenglass, a machinist at Los Alamos whose testimony proved central. Later VENONA decrypts and opened archives confirmed Julius's espionage while indicating Ethel's operational role was smaller than charged. The case remains a defining controversy of the McCarthy era.