An infamous “Red Scare” case is being re-litigated in the public after the release of a newly declassified document from August 22, 1950 that reveals that the United States government knew that Ethel Rosenberg was not a spy long before her trial. Ethel and her husband Julius Rosenberg were executed by electric chair in 1953 after being convicted for spying for the Soviet Union during the height of the Red Scare.
Both Rosenbergs were communists at a time when the United States was trying to crush communism both domestically and abroad. Julius was arrested in 1950, held accountable for allegedly trading nuclear secrets with the Soviet Union, a crime which he was later found to be innocent of. His arrest came shortly after the start of the genocidal Korean War, one of many proxy wars the US fought in its attempt to crush socialism and the sovereignty of other nations. Their execution was fought against by both other communists and people of conscience around the world.
Sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois penned the poem “The Rosenbergs” at the time of their deaths, writing “We are the killers hurling mud!/We the witchhunters, drinking blood!/To us shreek all the lynched,/The thousands mobbed/The millions dead in useless war.”
The descendents of the Rosenbergs are demanding that President Biden issue a proclamation stating that Ethel was wrongfully convicted and executed. Jennifer Meeropol, granddaughter of the Rosenbergs and Executive Director of the Rosenberg Children’s Fund, which aims to provide for the children of the politically persecuted, said, “President Biden has the power to right this historic injustice, redress the harm done to my family, and bring peace to my father and uncle in their lifetimes.”
She continued, “the Rosenberg Fund for Children was established by my father, Robert, almost 35 years ago in memory of his parents and as a testament to the community of progressive people who stood with him and his brother when their family was targeted. The RFC joins my father and uncle in calling on President Biden to act swiftly to address this grievous injustice.”
