Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens who were tried, convicted, and executed for spying for the Soviet Union. Even today, there remain questions about whether or not they were both actually guilty of espionage.

Julius Rosenberg was born in New York on May 12, 1918. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from the City College of New York and, in 1940, joined the Army Signal Corps where he worked on radar equipment. He met Ethel Greenglass at a fund raiser for the Young Communist League and they were married three years later in 1939.

Julius was recruited by the KGB (the Soviet Union’s secret police) in 1942 and began supplying them with classified reports. Julius was also involved in recruiting others to serve the KGB, including his brother-in-law, David Greenglass, who worked on the Manhattan Project. In 1950, Greenglass was caught and confessed to sharing secret information with the USSR. He then testified that his sister, Ethel, and her husband had also passed on secrets.

The espionage trial of the Rosenbergs attracted national attention. Despite weak evidence, Ethel was convicted of conspiracy to spy against the United States. Some believe that she was given a harsh sentence in order to pressure Julius into giving up the names of other suspected spies. However, the tactic did not work because Ethel and Julius invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination while on the witness stand. Despite their belief in Communism, they both denied the spying charges.

The Rosenbergs were convicted on March 29, 2951, and sentenced to death. Their conviction helped to fuel Senator Joseph McCarthy’s investigations in “anti-American activities” by US citizens. They were the only two American citizens executed for espionage-related activity during the Cold War. They died in the electric chair on June 19, 1953.

The case was controversial for several reasons. Some question whether they received a fair trial. Some believe the death sentence was too harsh. Though history has revealed that Julius was probably involved in some form of espionage, his wife may not have been.