The first clue America had that a Russian spy ring existed in the US was the discovery of a KGB codebook on the Finnish battlefield during World War II. When compared with Germany's machine-scrambled codes, the code appeared to be relatively primitive; a certain set of numbers corresponded to a word, letter, or essential phrase. There was a little catch though; the codebook was to be read with a corresponding page that every KGB officer was given. Because the American ciphers did not have the corresponding page, there were an infinite number of possibilities that could have corresponded to the book, making deciphering it impossible.

The first time Bloch met Rosenberg he thought this would be a simple open and shut case. He thought that if Rosenberg would respond to all questions with the Fifth Amendment, then the prosecution's case would become a lot weaker. He missed some obvious hints though, that would have led him to think otherwise. For example, Greenglass was nicknamed by the media as the "atom-spy." (Sharlitt 6)

Some historians say that the government framed the Rosenbergs, and was aiming for capital punishment. First, they were not charged with espionage, rather they were charged and convicted of conspiracy to spy. This was to the government's advantage because, as explained previously, much less proof is necessary for a conviction for conspiracy. A second reason that historians think that the government was out to kill the Rosenbergs was because Saypool, Lane, Cohn, and Kilsheimer were all assigned to the case. This showed the government's strong and special interest in the case. In summary, the charge against the Rosenbergs, the powerful prosecution, the well-known anti-Communist prosecutors and the judge, all support that the government's objective was to kill the Rosenbergs. (Sharlitt 23)

On July 16, 1950, two uniformed police officers, William Norton and John Harrington, came to Julius' apartment and took him down for questioning. Julius remained very calm while being interrogated but refused to allow his apartment to be checked without a warrant. When Julius was taken to the base, Harrington asked him, "What would you say if we told you that your brother-in-law said you asked him to supply information to the Russians?" Julius responded sharply, "Bring him here, and I will call him a liar to his face." (Sharlitt 3)

After being released, Julius continued his normal routine while the FBI conducted what they call a "discreet surveillance." Agents Norton and Harrington were permanently assigned to Rosenberg's case. Without David Greenglass expanding on his accusations from June 15-16, they could not justify arresting him. There are different theories as to why Julius did not seize the chance to flee the FBI. One theory is that he did not think that David would break down so far as to mention even his own family. Another theory is that it would have taken weeks to alert some of his contacts without leading the FBI to them. (Meerpool 37)

Julius' background was similar to Ehtel's; he grew up on New York's East Side. He went to the same schools as Ethel, Talmud Torah for middle school, and Seward Park for high school. Julius never had to worry about money, and his father wanted him to further his religious leanings and become a rabbi. In Julius' senior year, he grew more interested in politics and less interested in religion. After Julius graduated from Seward, he went to the City College of New York, where he majored in electrical engineering. This major was favored by politically aware students because it entitled them to membership in the Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists and Technicians (FAECT), a militant union for white collar professionals with a pro-Communist leadership. Julius soon became a member in the Steinmentz Club, a branch of the Young Communist League, or YCL. Soon Julius became so involved in politics that his graduation was in jeopardy. At this time, Julius and Ethel were becoming very serious about each other and Ethel made Julius come over to her house to study so that he would eventually receive his diploma. Because Julius spent so much time in Ethel's house, David (Ethel's brother) became very friendly with Julius. Julius kindled David's interest in politics, convincing him to join the YCL. (Allen 45)

Some common words found in the essay are:
Julius Ethel, Edgar Hoover, Arnorld Saypool's, Klaus Fuchs, David Greenglass, Fifth Amendment, Irving Kaufman, Purchasing Commission, Julius Rosenberg, War II, julius rosenberg, david greenglass, communist party, julius ethel, ethel rosenberg, harry gold, klaus fuchs, station julius, signal corps, atomic energy, york macmillan publishing, seward park school, july 17 1950, macmillan publishing company, involvement communist party,
Approximate Word count = 4474
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)