Michael Rosenberg Appeals to Eisenhower to Meet with Him Days Before His Parents’ Execution (1953)

Date: June 17, 1953

Created By: Michael Rosenberg

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, The Rosenberg Case

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Records as President, Alphabetical File, Box 2673, The Rosenbergs; NAID #12608528

This June 17, 1953 telegram to President Dwight D. Eisenhower was sent by Michael Rosenberg, the young son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, only two days before his parents were scheduled to be executed. Michael informs Eisenhower that he, his brother Robby, and his grandmother were traveling to Washington that afternoon. He explains that because the president had not answered his earlier letters, he hoped to speak with Eisenhower personally and tell him “how good my mommy and daddy are.”

Michael also asks that, if Eisenhower is too busy to meet with him, the president leave a letter with a policeman to whom Michael had previously delivered another message. The telegram reflects the deeply personal side of the Rosenberg espionage case as the family made final efforts to prevent the executions. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg had been convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for providing atomic and other defense-related information to the Soviet Union and were sentenced to death. Eisenhower faced numerous requests to grant executive clemency but declined to commute their sentences. Sent from a child directly appealing for his parents’ lives, the telegram provides a striking contrast between the human consequences of the case and the broader Cold War concerns surrounding espionage, Communism, national security, and presidential clemency.