Federal Prison Director Reports on Interviews with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Weeks Before Their Execution (1953)

Date: June 5, 1953

Created By: James Bennett

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, The Rosenberg Case

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Herbert Brownell Papers, Box 75, B (3); NAID #12608524

This June 5, 1953 memorandum to Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. reports on separate interviews with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg at Sing Sing Prison on June 2, only weeks before their scheduled execution for conspiracy to commit espionage. The unidentified Bureau of Prisons official explains that he offered the Rosenbergs an opportunity to provide the government with information that might resolve unanswered questions in their case. Julius instead strongly maintained his innocence, criticized the prosecution and Judge Irving Kaufman, and argued that he and Ethel had received disproportionately severe sentences compared with David and Ruth Greenglass.

The official observed that Julius appeared more emotional and less confident than during previous conversations but showed no indication that he intended to cooperate. Ethel similarly denied possessing information useful to the government and refused to implicate anyone else, even if cooperation might prevent her execution. Both maintained that their convictions were unjust and indicated that their only request was commutation of their death sentences. The memorandum concludes with the official notifying Rosenberg attorney Emanuel Bloch about the interviews. The document provides a firsthand account of the government’s final efforts to obtain information from the Rosenbergs as their execution date approached and demonstrates their continued insistence on innocence and refusal to cooperate.