Monday, October 6, 2008

More Reaction To Release Of Rosenberg Documents


above, from cbs news
also more reactions from the Meeropol's at the Rosenberg Foundation For Children
a h/t to Irvine, Californian Kver Norma for the following article in the LA Times of 10/5/08,
an excerpt:
We are the sons of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. We were young children -- 10 and 6 years old, respectively -- when our parents were put to death in the electric chair at Sing Sing for passing the secret of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.
For many years after that, we believed our parents to be wholly innocent of the charges against them. But over the years, and especially as further evidence became available at the end of the Cold War, we began to question that belief.
Now, 55 years after their execution, two recent revelations in our parents' case have again rekindled fierce debate about their culpability. But in our opinion, these disclosures -- the release of our aunt's sworn statements to a grand jury and a surprise new admission by our parents' codefendant -- have obscured both the essence and the essential lessons of the Rosenberg case.
Many Americans now living were not born when our parents stood trial in 1951 for conspiracy to commit espionage, so they may not understand why this case remains one of our nation's most sensational courtroom dramas. The reason is that, at the height of the Cold War, two people were executed for allegedly giving the secret of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.
Viewed through the lens of 1950s America, it appeared to many that the Rosenbergs had given our archenemy the means to destroy our nation. The trial judge justified the death sentences by pronouncing that our parents made it possible for the Soviets to build their bomb earlier than expected, causing the Korean War and the deaths of thousands of American soldiers. "I consider your crime worse than murder," said the judge as he sentenced our parents to death. "Plain deliberate contemplated murder is dwarfed in magnitude by comparison with the crime you have committed."
But was that true? Had they in fact passed the so-called secret of the atomic bomb to the Russians? We have acknowledged for a long time the possibility that our father may have engaged in non-atomic espionage. The recent statement by our parents' codefendant, Morton Sobell, confirms exactly that, and several weeks ago we stated publicly for the first time that we now believe that our father did, in fact, participate in passing along military information.
But Sobell's recent admission sheds no light on whether our father in fact stole the secret of the atomic bomb, the crime for which he was executed. To this day, there is no credible evidence that he participated in obtaining or passing on any such secret.
In contrast, the newly released grand jury transcript does provide interesting new information about the case.

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