Morton Sobel, one of the key figures in what is known as the Rosenberg Spy Case, finally admitted he had spied for the Russians. His confession came almost 60 years later, after he and Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted for passing secrets about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Sobel served more than 18 years in prison, and the Rosenbergs both died in the electric chair in Sing Sing Prison.
Since this all happened and long time ago and most of us have memories only slightly stronger than a dog’s, this may seem like ancient history. But the case was sensational when the spies were first arrested. There was much controversy about executing the Rosenbergs. Up until Sobel’s belated confession, people have argued the innocence of the Rosenbergs or at least claims they could not have passed atomic secrets to the Soviets, since atomic secrets were passable.
Writer, Robert Coover, wrote the Public Burning, in 1977, a novel centering around the Rosenberg case. It’s a terrific work, a classic, and the narration is formed through the minds and voices of the key players of the time, including our very own former President and Commie Hunter, Richard Nixon. The book captures the spirit of the entire affair, perhaps more than any other non-fiction narrative. But then, we now have Sobel’s confession.
The Rosenberg’s had two children. They were six-years-old and ten-years-old, respectively, when their parents were put to death. They lived anonymously for a number of years and then came forward, claiming their parent’s innocence. But now we have Sobel’s confession. Although Sobel’s confession was not a complete confession. He still denied passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. He implicated Julius in his confession, but claims Ethel was aware of her husband’s espionage but did not actually participate as a spy.
Others have argued that she transcribed some of the secrets, although old KGB archives may claim otherwise. It gets murky and will probably stay murky, despite the release of the KGB archives and Sobel’s confession at 91-years of age. Events as they happen are often seen through the prejudices of the people who participated and then misinterpreted by the media and historians. Misperceptions of historical events have probably occurred since the beginning of time.
Most believe Ethel Rosenberg was not a participant and was implicated in order to pressure her husband to reveal names of conspirators. He clammed up, and she died along with him. The two boys were orphaned and after denying either their parents were spies or that they did not pass atomic secrets, they finally have to admit the truth. Dad was a spy.
I would venture the two sons lived in at least partial denial or with the ambiguity as a means of buttressing against the sense of shame and embarrassment. And anger. America did not invoke the relative morality aspect like it does today. America did not like Commies and much work was done to assure that they were perceived a menace to our society and way of life. Perhaps they were. I would think so. It was the harshest part of the Cold War, and while we can excuse human imperfections and perhaps even understand their wrong minded ideology and motives, at the end of the day Daddy, for sure, was a spy.
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Whether they should have been executed or not, I’ll leave to others. They were. They were traitors. No matter how you couch it, how you smooth it over, or how you claim they were not really passing atomic secrets, they remain guilty of treason. Personally, I share little sympathy for traitors. While the Rosenbergs’ were a more compassionate example, perhaps even pathetic in some ways, they remain traitors.
In today’s world they would not face the executioner. They would probably write a book in prison and eventually be paroled. Like Sobel, who was paroled in 1969. Who denied his complicity for almost sixty years. Which brings the question if he denied his complicity for six decades and suddenly admits it, then how complete is that admission? Sobel is obviously a proven liar and since his release from prison has embraced “progressive causes.” Spots on the leopard, that kind thing.
Sobel argues, like other convicted traitors of the time, that he did it for peace. He did it for defensive reasons, not to give the Russians an offensive edge. He wanted parity in the world. It is an old song, a standard, if you will, and one that I find tedious at best. You have either betrayed your country or you have not betrayed your country. Anything in between smells of the old axiom, “you can’t be a little bit pregnant.”
There have been other spies. The Walker family gave the Soviets a lot more information than the Rosenbergs ever did. Aldrich Ames was in the CIA, and he sold out his country for a few bucks he needed for his wife’s more lavish lifestyle and to prove a point to the government. Dave Hansen, worked for the FBI, before he sold out his country. Jonathan Pollard. Ronald Pelton. It’s a long list.
And now with the Russians back on the proverbial war path once again, or at least with them trying to reassert themselves as a world player, we will probably see even more spies. If the behavioral chicanery from the financial market is any indication of modern character, it is hard to believe there isn’t a few thousand enterprising souls who would never let anything like patriotism get in the way of their alternate ideology or a few bucks in cash. And the Russians are very good at espionage, and really good at turning people. So I am sure we will see headlines in the future.
As for the Rosenberg children, I do feel sympathy. Clearly, no matter how you examine the case, nobody was all right in their actions. Probably not the government who it seems manufactured Ethel’s complicity in her husband’s espionage efforts. As for the Rosenbergs, if both weren’t spies, then Julius certainly was and Ethel knew it and kept her mouth shut. I can understand why she didn’t betray her husband, but it doesn’t exactly make her an innocent bystander, either. She betrayed her country instead of her husband. Tough choice. Maybe jail time complicity, but not the death penalty.
As for the kids, they must live with it. I’m sure they will digest what they may have known already and life will go on. As for closure to this case, you can forget about it. The Rosenbergs blighted the landscape with their treachery, and the government added to the scars with what is probably a miscarriage of justice. The case itself resulted in shame, embarrassment, anger, guilt, and sense of betrayal. It is not the kind of thing we forgive, although we do tend to forget it. Usually. The Rosenberg case is the exception. It will always be controversial. But at least we have Sobel’s confession.
