In 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg became the first Americans to be executed for espionage. Their conviction and execution were a crucial factor in the intensification of the Cold War in America, which in turn led to the phenomenon known as McCarthyism. Their guilt and the harshness of their sentence continue to be vigorously debated.

The Rosenbergs have been viewed by leftist intellectuals as martyrs, conveniently sacrificed by an iniquitous United States in the name of anticommunism. They have been remembered for their deaths far more than for their lives and have been the subject of many books, articles, poems, plays, works of art, and documentaries.

Ethel (nee Greenglass) and Julius Rosenberg both hailed from the lower east side of Manhattan. Like many young Americans during the Depression, both became involved in leftist groups. They...