Description
Minutes, correspondence, press releases, circulated material, pamphlets, clippings, and a photograph relating to the espionage
trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
Background
The National Rosenberg Defence Committee was an organization created in England, most likely during 1952, as a result of the
publicity surrounding the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Maintaining contact with the New York based Committee to Secure
Justice in the Rosenberg Case, this organization sought to enlist the support of the British public in the drive to obtain
clemency for the Rosenbergs. Members of the committee included Felicity Whittaker, Percy Belcher, Rev. Stanley Evans, and
D.N. Pritt, QC. In addition to writing letters to the editors of various leftist, union, and Jewish publications around Britain,
they sought public support through sponsoring rallies in London, letter writing campaigns targeted at U.S. leaders, and other
forms of protest. In one such letter writing campaign, they enlisted the support of many well-known British authors, including
Graham Greene, Dylan Thomas, Sean O'Casey, and a host of others.
Availability
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.