Soviet spies who betrayed the secret of the A-Bomb or innocent victims framed by Cold War hysteria, legal corruption and anti-Semitism? Over seventy years later the debate rages on.
Julius Rosenberg, mug shot
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg began their lives as two of the most unlikely individuals to ever acquire their eventual high profile notoriety. Julius’ immigrant father, Harry, worked in the Garment District, providing his family with a better than average income that allowed the Rosenbergs to live a lifestyle marginally better than many of their Lower East Side counterparts. His mother, also an immigrant from Eastern Europe was an illiterate homemaker who took care of Julius and his four siblings. Quite serious, even as a teenager, Julius was a good enough student to consider rabbinical studies. A high school graduate at 16, he eventually settled on engineering, enrolling at the City College of New York. Politically aware, he also became active in several associations associated with the Communist Party, especially the Young Communist League.
Ethel Rosenberg, mug shot
Ethel Greenglass came from a similar Lower East Side background as her eventual husband, her father working in the sewing machine repair shop on the ground floor beneath the family apartment. Three years older than Julius, they met as a result of their political interests and involvement in the Young Communist League. Ethel was an aspiring actress and singer from a young age and was preparing to perform on New Year’s Eve, 1936, at a union benefit that Julius also attended. After an introduction from a friend, Ethel agreed to Julius’ request to walk her home and from then on, the couple was inseparable.
David Greenglass, mug shot
David Greenglass’ testimony against his own sister and brother-in-law, which even he admitted later was disingenuous and coached by the federal government, was lethal to the Rosenbergs.
Ruth Greenglass, mug shot
Only a minor player in the Rosenberg spy ring, the FBI and US Government threatened the Greenglass’ if they did not cooperate and help with the prosecution of their own relatives.
David and Ruth Greenglass during World War II
David Greenglass’ random assignment to the highly sensitive Manhattan Project to construct a nuclear weapon placed him in proximity to information that was of interest to his brother-in-law, Julius Rosenberg
Atom spy Klaus Fuchs
Fuchs’ arrest and testimony led the FBI to both Harry Gold and eventually the Rosenbergs. He was sentenced to fourteen years in prison, served nine and was released. He then emigrated to East Germany, and worked on weapons research until his eventual retirement as a highly decorated Communist hero.
Harry Gold
Harry Gold was a Soviet espionage agent and courier who interacted between David Greenglass and Klaus Fuchs. He testified against the Rosenbergs, received a thirty year jail sentence and was released after serving approximately fifteen years. He worked as a hospital pathologist and died in 1972.
The actual Jell-O box that was submitted as evidence during the Rosenberg trial
Although a recreation, this piece of evidence was crucial to demonstrating the tradecraft and espionage capabilities of Julius Rosenberg. Harry Gold presented one half of the box to David Greenglass to introduce himself and demonstrate that he was sent by Julius Rosenberg. The Jell-O box used at the trial is now in the National Archives.
Soviet spies who betrayed the secret of the A-Bomb or innocent victims framed by Cold War hysteria, legal corruption and anti-Semitism? Over seventy years later the debate rages on.
Morton Sobell, while traveling to East Germany in the seventies
Sobell was a co-defendant of the Rosenbergs and claimed to be an innocent victim of a government frame-up. He eventually admitted that he had passed secrets to the Russians and that Julius Rosenberg was an espionage agent. But, he also claimed that Ethel Rosenberg was not part of the conspiracy. Sobell spent almost eighteen years in prison before his release and death in 2018, age 101.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, minutes after their conviction
Other federal defendants who were transported to court with the Rosenbergs mention their deep devotion and affection for each other despite harrowing circumstances.
Soviet intelligence agent Alexander Feklisov
Feklisov was the case officer who coordinated the espionage ring involving Klaus Fuchs, Harry Gold and Julius Rosenberg. Feklisov was named the Washington, DC station chief in 1960 and played a prominent role in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
After Justice Douglas permitted a last minute stay of execution for the Rosenbergs, the entire court was reconvened in a highly unusual session which vacated Douglas’ ruling. The Rosenbergs were executed only hours later.
Prosecutor Irving Saypol
Considered one of several villains in the Rosenberg case, Saypol, a federal prosecutor, eventually served on the New York State Supreme Court, a promotion that was perceived as a reward for his role in the prosecution and execution of the Rosenbergs.
The Rosenbergs’ gravesite, obscured by shrubs, Wellwood Cemetery, West Babylon, NY
Over ten thousand people crowded outside of the funeral home in Brooklyn where the Rosenbergs memorial was held. The couple were buried on Long Island as many cemeteries in their native New York City refused to allow their burial.
The true story of eight nazi spies who landed on American shores via U-Boat at the height of WWII
George Dasch, FBI mugshot
George John Dasch was born on February 7, 1903 in Speyer, Germany, the fifth of thirteen children. His mother, a social worker and quite influential at critical moments of his life, implored him at the age of thirteen to enter a seminary in preparation for the Catholic priesthood. Dasch was expelled a year later and then served briefly in the German Army at the conclusion of World War I, lying about his age to facilitate enlistment. Post war occupation by American troops resulted in Dasch’s fascination with emigrating to the United States and his employment on the docks of Hamburg allowed him to eventually stow away on a merchant ship bound for Philadelphia. There, he avoided detection and blended into the neighborhood, getting a menial job within days of his arrival in October of 1922. Determining that he might have more success within the large German ex-pat community in New York, Dasch quickly headed north.
The eight saboteurs: top, left to right, Dasch, Burger, Heinck, Quirin. Bottom, left to right, Kerling, Thiel, Neubauer, Haupt
All eight men were outfitted with American style civilian clothes, fake identity papers and presented with eight wooden crates containing waterproof stainless steel receptacles packed tightly with plastic explosives, detonators, and timers. Dasch and Kerlin as team leaders were given additional training in invisible ink composition and composed handkerchiefs covertly containing contact names for reliable friends and relatives in the US. Dasch and Kerlin were also each given approximately 85,000 dollars.
Walter Kappe, 1936 American mug shot
Upon arrival, Dasch was confined to a hotel with other newly arrived German nationals where he was rigorously interviewed by officials intent on determining the exact motivation for his return. Among these interviewers was a man named Walter Kappe, who grilled Dasch in English to assess how well the he spoke the language. After Dasch lied to him about employment in an import-export company and demonstrated language proficiency, Kappe gave him his card, indicating that he was an editor of a magazine and encouraged him to interview for a position. Dasch was polite, but was anxious to visit his family and explore other less nebulous options via family connections.
Wilhelm Canaris
Hitler no longer had to worry about that consequence, and he began to berate Abwehr chief Wilhelm Canaris, to implement the Fuehrer’s concept of a massive covert attack on America, both destroying American industrial capability and fomenting a home grown fifth column of resistance within the German-American community.
Erwin Lahousen
Canaris and the head of the Abwehr II section, Erwin Von Lahousen, began to cast about for an appropriate individual to supervise this covert scheme. Walter Kappe, having spent many years in the US and possessing an understanding of the German ex-pat community was a logical choice. Kappe, eager to settle scores against a country that ultimately rejected him, enthusiastically accepted the assignment. Perhaps, Canaris and von Lahousen, secretly anti-Nazi and two of several eventual leaders of the ill-fated German military resistance to Hitler, were subtly trying to derail the operation from the top down. Amagansett Coast Guard Station
Jennett was convinced and prepared a response, notifying the off-duty commander of the outpost, chief boatswain’s mate Warren Barnes, who showed up within minutes. Jennett issued rifles to the seven other men in the Coast Guard station, all so inexperienced that he had to give them a quick tutorial on their safe usage. Calls were also placed to the off duty senior officer at the Amagansett station who contacted Coast Guard intelligence in New York City.Coast Guardsman John Cullen
John Cullen, ran back to his outpost as quickly as possible, returning in approximately five minutes. Waking up his fellow guardsman, he began yelling about Germans on the beach. His commanding officer, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Carl Jennett, was an experienced seaman who initially suspected that Cullen was the victim of an overeager imagination.J. Edgar Hoover in the thirties
J. Edgar Hoover was immediately notified of the mysterious landing and he acted predictably. As FDR had already designated the FBI to lead any domestic sabotage investigations, the first thing the FBI did was confiscate any materials recovered from the beach by the Coast Guard. An FBI team of explosive experts was already examining and cataloguing the Nazi cache of demolition materials. Because the neurotically suspicious FBI director had received information via the Coast Guard, he first wished to verify if in fact he was dealing with Nazis or something less sinister, like alcohol smugglers from Canada who used remote parts of Long Island to run untaxed liquor into the country. Amagansett LIRR train station
By then, the four saboteurs were nowhere near Amagansett, although their exit from eastern Long Island contained some precarious moments. Dasch was vaguely familiar with the area and recognized the general location of Amagansett from his days living in New York, but he still had no clear direction for the village or railroad depot. The men were savvy enough to get away from the beach as quickly as possible and still under the cover of darkness, they were able to quickly access the main road in the area, the Montauk Highway. Wandering in a northerly direction and careful to avoid any homes or brightly lit areas, they were especially alarmed by the sound of the U-boat diesel engines they heard as they stealthily tried to extricate themselves from the beach vicinity. When a large campground forced them to walk in a circuitous manner, they stumbled over some railroad tracks. Dasch correctly headed west and within a mile they reached the Amagansett train station. At five o’clock on a Saturday morning, it was locked and deserted. All four men got rid of any wet clothes and tried to make themselves as presentable as possible. At six AM, the station opened and Dasch bought four tickets to New York, the first train leaving at 6:59. The four men were the only passengers to board at Amagansett and within minutes they were rapidly leaving the Hamptons behind, incredibly relieved to have successfully completed one of the most challenging parts of their mission. Heinck even shook Dasch’s hand, acknowledging his leadership in guiding them out of danger.
The true story of eight nazi spies who landed on American shores via U-Boat at the height of WWII.
Typical German U-Boat
By the time the Dasch group was loaded on to U-202, Walter Kappe was seemingly glad to be rid of everybody. Although the U-Boat captain Hans-Heinz Linder asked the group to join him in his quarters for a toast to the newcomers, Kappe stayed merely long enough to wish everyone well and then quickly bolted.Attorney General Francis Biddle
By the time the Dasch group was loaded on to U-202, Walter Kappe was seemingly glad to be rid of everybody. Although the U-Boat captain Hans-Heinz Linder asked the group to join him in his quarters for a toast to the newcomers, Kappe stayed merely long enough to wish everyone well and then quickly bolted.Mugshot of Herbie Haupt’s father, Hans HauptHerbie’s mother, Erna HauptHedy EngemannMarie KerlingChief Justice Harlan Stone
