#atomic spies

[j-august]

When news reached Los Alamos of [Alan Nunn] May's arrest, the wife of one of the British scientists commented, "I knew him fairly well. But I don't know how you would describe him. He was like - why, he was rather like Klaus [Fuchs] here." Fuchs, who was later revealed as the most important of the British atomic spies, is said to have smiled politely and commented that he did not think May could have told the Russians anything of real importance.

Christopher Andrew, The Defence of the Realm

[coachrodney15]

In the height of the Cold War, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. Their story is a chilling blend of ideological fervor, family betrayal, and political hysteria. Declassified files later revealed a messy truth: Julius was guilty, but Ethel was a tragic pawn.

Atomic Hearts and Cold War Shadows: The Tragic Spy Saga of the Rosenberg's

[pilgrim1975]

The Rosenbergs, ulterior motives on both sides.

Having been doing this for some time, I occasionally get asked to collaborate with other history and crime buffs. A while back the nice folk at Ministry of History asked me to do a guest spot covering Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. So, seeing as I only just remembered doing it, here it is. https://rss.com/podcasts/theministryofhistory/179592 I’m usually open to collaborating so, if you like what…

The Rosenbergs, ulterior motives on both sides.

[katiekeysburg]

just some light reading

[stevenspielbergchronicles]

1953 Anti-communism in the US hits its peak. Despite international protests Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed in the electric chair for alleged atomic espionage .

Spielberg will refer to the hysterical mood of this time in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and in Bridge of Spies (2015).

[supercriticality]

Klaus Fuchs' documents on the explosive lens/plutonium core of the Fat Man bomb. These would eventually fall into the hands of the SU who developed nuclear weapons of their own in 1949.