During the Cold War one of the main fears for american was Communism within the U.S. This was known as the Red Scare and was caused by the growing power of communist countries after the Second World War. It began in the late 1940s and continued through to the mid 50s, and effected American Politics, culture and society. Americans were terrified of the american communists they felt were hiding among them.

One of these american communist couples were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. In 1950 Julius was arrested, accused of passing atomic secrets to the soviets. After the Soviets had their first successful nuclear tests, people assumed it was due to Soviet spies, and all eyes turned to Julius. Soon after, his wife Ethel was also arrested, thought to have known about her husbands actions.

In 1951 their trial began, but the only evidence was the confessions of Greenglass. He claimed that Julius asked him to pass confidential instructions on how to make a nuclear bomb to him, which he could pass to the soviets.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence during the trial, the Rosenbergs both ended up getting convicted with the death penalty for committing espionage.

This trial is a representation of both the height of the Red Scare as well as the beginning of its end. Leading up to and during the trial, Americans were terrified of the concept of their fellow Americans sharing secrets with the soviets. The couldn’t believe this was happening and began doubting everyone around them.

However, once they were charged with the death penalty many Americans began rethinking their stance. Due to the lack of concrete evidence and the fact that the Rosenbergs continued claiming innocence until the very end, they began to sympathize with them. Many people began to rally against their execution, feeling that Americans didn’t deserve to die, and should be pardoned.

Both President Truman and President Eisenhower ignored the public’s pleas for the couple to be pardoned, and let the court’s decision stand. In the end, the couple ended up getting executed on June 19th, 1953, in the electric chair.

After this execution, it sent an electric shock through the whole american public, the realization that their fear of communism was causing the death of fellow American citizens. Many Americans began to rethink their fear, and realized it wasn’t as necessary as they may have thought. In the end, this execution ended up causing the Red Scare to begin to die down.

In then end, information confirming their espionage was released by the soviets after the end of the Cold War. It’s clear the Julius had been an avid communist and had been sharing information with the soviets for a while. Along with that, there is now solid evidence confirming Ethel knew about what her husband was doing.

Even to this day the Rosenbergs are a symbol for the height of the Red Scare, and their names will always be closely associated with communism.

Timeline of major events during the Red Scare