Julius Rosenberg

Definition

Julius Rosenberg was an American engineer who, along with his wife Ethel, was convicted of espionage in 1951 for providing the Soviet Union with classified information about the atomic bomb.

Analogy

Think of Julius Rosenberg as a player on a football team who secretly passes the playbook to the opposing team. In this case, the "playbook" is classified information about nuclear technology and the "opposing team" is the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Related terms

Espionage Act of 1917: This law made it a crime to interfere with military operations or support U.S. enemies during wartime. It was used to prosecute Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Cold War: The period of political tension and military rivalry between nations in the Western bloc (the United States and its allies) and powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies) that began after World War II.

Atomic Bomb: A weapon with great explosive power that results from sudden release of energy upon splitting, or fissioning, of heavy atomic nuclei such as those of plutonium or uranium.