Weatherwax Rosenberg Flyer Collection, 1952-1976, undated, bulk 1952-1953

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Summary

Creators:
Weatherwax, John M. (John Martin), 1900-1984, Los Angeles Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case, and National Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case
Abstract:
The Weatherwax Rosenberg Flyer Collections contains flyers, pamphlets, booklets, and other papers about the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case from the personal collection of John Weatherwax. Items in the collection date from 1952 to 1976. Most of the materials in this collection are flyers for events supporting the Rosenbergs and informational flyers and pamphlets attempting to rally popular support for clemency. This collection is now part of the John M. Weatherwax Collection and can be found under Series III: Subject Files, Sub-Series D: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Case
Extent:
1 box and .20 Linear Feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Background

Scope and content:

The Weatherwax Rosenberg Flyer Collection contains 0.20 linear feet of ephemera from the grassroots response to the trial, conviction, and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. This collection, which dates from 1952 to 1976, consists primarily of flyers, pamphlets, and booklets produced by the movement to exonerate the Rosenbergs. Many materials were created by the Los Angeles Committee to Secure Justice for the Rosenbergs (aka the Rosenberg LA Committee) and the National Committee to Secure Justice for the Rosenbergs. Some materials produced after the execution of the Rosenbergs call for support for Morton Sobell.

Biographical / historical:

Julius Rosenberg (1918-1953) and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg (1915-1953) were convicted of espionage in 1951 and executed in 1953. They were accused of transmitting information about nuclear weapon design to the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs maintained their innocence, and a grassroots campaign for clemency for the Rosenbergs arose after their sentencing. Popular appeals for clemency in the Rosenbergs case cited anti-Semitism and anti-Communist sentiment within the United States as factors in the outcome of the case. Prominent figures such as Albert Einstein and Jean-Paul Sartre spoke out publicly against the death sentence in the Rosenberg case. The couple were executed on June 19, 1953, but outcry persisted. Morton Sobell (b. 1917) was also convicted of espionage alongside the Rosenbergs. Sobell was sentenced to 30 years in prison but served less than 18.

After the dissolution of the USSR, Soviet documents newly available in the West proved that the Rosenbergs had indeed been Soviet spies, shedding new light on the decades-long historical debate. In 2008, Sobell claimed in an interview with the New York Times that both he and Julius Rosenberg engaged in espionage for the USSR, reversing decades of maintaining his innocence.

Processing information:

This collection was processed by Sharon MacNett, 2018.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Location of this collection:
University Library, 5th Flr (5039)
1000 E. Victoria Street
Carson, CA 90747, US
Contact:
(310) 243-3895
archives@csudh.edu
Website