Today in Labor History February 11, 1953: Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denied all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The government executed them at Sing Sing in 1953. They had been convicted of espionage for the USSR. Their sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol (adopted by Abel Meerepol, composer of the anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit,”), maintained their parents’ innocence. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, decoded Soviet cables showed that their father had, in fact, collaborated with them. The sons continued to fight for the mother’s pardon, but Obama refused to grant it.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #rosenbergs #espionage #deathpenalty #execution #ussr #soviet #communism #prison #coldwar #obama #eisenhower #StrangeFruit #racism #lynching

Today in Labor History March 29, 1951: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. They were executed at Sing Sing in 1953. The Rosenberg’s sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol were adopted by Abel Meeropol, the composer of “Strange Fruit,” (made famous by Billie Holiday). The sons maintained their parents’ innocence. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, decoded Soviet cables showed that their father had, in fact, collaborated, but that their mother was innocent. They continued to fight for the mother’s pardon, but Obama refused to grant it. The Rosenberg’s sons were among the last students to attend the anarchist Modern School, in Lakewood, New Jersey, before it finally shut its doors in 1958.

The Modern School movement began in 1901, in Barcelona, Spain, when Francisco Ferrer opened his Escuela Moderna. It was one of the very first Spanish schools to be fully secular, co-educational, and open to all students, regardless of class. His ideas were so popular that 40 more Modern Schools opened in Barcelona in just a few years, while 80 other schools adopted his textbooks. In 1909, there were mass protests and a General Strike against Spanish intervention in Morocco. The state responded with a week of terror and repression, during which they slaughtered over 600 workers and falsely executed Ferrer as an instigator of the protests. His execution led to worldwide protests. Modern Schools started to pop up outside of Spain, inspired by his original Escuela Moderna, including 20 in the U.S.

For more on the Modern School movement, read my article: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2022/04/30/the-modern-school-movement/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #deathpenalty #execution #rosenbergs #espionage #ussr #soviet #communism #prison #SingSing #obama #strangefruit #anarchism #modernschool #abelmeerepol

Decades hearing about the deep state in the #USA, how the #CIA was the one really in charge... Only to see the #Kremlin taking over the #WhiteHouse and the entire apparatus of the federal state without any sign of resistance or counter reaction. Everyone is simply accepting as an unavoidable fatality that #America is now one more satellite-state of the Kremlin.

For so much less the #Rosenbergs ended up executed, so much less evidence, so much less damage. Electric chair they got.

Today in Labor History February 11, 1953: Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denied all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The government executed them at Sing Sing in 1953. They had been convicted of espionage for the USSR. Their sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol (adopted by Abel Merepol, composer of the anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit,”), maintained their parents’ innocence. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, decoded Soviet cables showed that their father had collaborated. They continued to fight for the mother’s pardon, but Obama refused to grant it.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #rosenbergs #espionage #deathpenalty #execution #ussr #soviet #communism #prison #coldwar #obama #eisenhower #StrangeFruit #racism #lynching

The US government murdered Ethel Rosenberg to try to force her husband to talk:

“Newly released memo clears Ethel Rosenberg of spying, but says she knew her husband did; sons seek her exoneration”

#ColdWar #Rosenbergs

https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2024/09/newly-released-memo-clears-ethel-rosenberg-of-spying-but-says-she-knew-her-husband-did-sons-seek-her-exoneration.html

Today in Labor History June 15, 1917: President Woodrow Wilson signed the Espionage Act into law. The law targeted leftist, anti-war and labor organizations, especially the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which was virtually destroyed because of the arrests and deportations of its members. When Eugene Debs spoke against the draft in Canton, Ohio, he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He ran for president from prison in 1920, winning nearly 1 million votes (3.4%). The government used the law to arrest anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman and depart them to the Soviet Union. They used the law against the Rosenbergs, whom they executed. They also used it against Daniel Ellsberg, whose “Pentagon Papers” were published by the NY Times 51 years ago. The Espionage Act is still on the books and was used recently to prosecute Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #espionageact #redscare #freespeech #anarchism #prison #policestate #repression #soviet #emmagoldman #rosenbergs #edwardsnowden #chelseamanning #eugenedebs #IWW #warcrimes #imperialism

Today in Labor History March 29, 1951: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. They were executed at Sing Sing in 1953. The Rosenberg’s sons, Michael and Robert Meeropol (adopted by Abel Meeropol, the composer of “Strange Fruit,”), maintained their parents’ innocence. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, decoded Soviet cables showed that their father had, in fact, collaborated, but that their mother was innocent. They continued to fight for the mother’s pardon, but Obama refused to grant it. The Rosenberg’s sons were among the last students to attend the anarchist Modern School, in Lakewood, New Jersey, before it finally shut its doors in 1958.

For more on the Modern School movement, read my article: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2022/04/30/the-modern-school-movement/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #deathpenalty #execution #rosenbergs #espionage #ussr #soviet #communism #prison #SingSing #obama #strangefruit #anarchism #modernschool #abelmeerepol