Analysis of Klaus Fuchs' Espionage Case

Years after the trial had ended, Alexander Feklisov, with the help of Sergei Kostin, published his book The Man behind the Rosenbergs which begins with Julius’s recruitment. Julius was conveyed to the Soviets attention by Bernard Schuster, a friend of Julius (108). The initial contact was at a Labor Day rally, when Soviet Nationalist approached him. The spies and Julius talked about Communist; Semyon, Julius’s first recruiting agent, impressed with Julius’s Communist beliefs and attitude quickly asked him to become a spy. Julius allegedly swore to do all he could for the Soviets (109). However, Semyon was deactivated and Julius had to be contacted again. Feklisov was assigned to reinstate contact to the Julius (110). Feklisov opened up to Julius to gain is trust, quickly succeeding. Since meeting with contacts had to be short, more time with a contact increased the likelihood of being discovered by the government,

Even before the outbreak of War, the United States was concerned with a fascist regime in Europe researching in nuclear weapons. In retaliation, the United States began to fund an atomic weapon development program which became known as “The Manhattan Project” led by J. Robert Oppenheimer. Over the next several years, the Manhattan project started obtaining key materials such as Uranium-235 and Plutonium and testing prototypes until they reached a working model (Coroner).

From after World War II, to the Cold War, to the creation of the atomic bomb, America’s fear grew stronger. Espionage played an important role in the paranoia of the country. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for conspiracy in committing espionage because of the unwarranted paranoia of a nuclear attack by the Russians and the unjustified fear of the Soviet Union in the 1950s.

Well known scientist Albert Einstein, who fled from Nazi persecution, and Enrico Fermi who escaped Fascist Italy, were now living in the United States, on which they both agreed that the President should be enlightened of the vulnerability of atomic technology that was in the hands of Axis power. Fermi made an attempt and travelled to Washington in March to express his involvement with the government officials, who showed little to no concern. Einstein who as well shared a great concern in this topic; penned a letter to President Roosevelt imploring the development of an atomic research program later that year. Roosevelt saw neither prerequisite nor adequacy for such a project, but agreed to proceed gradually. In late 1941, the American effort to scheme and build an atomic bomb which received the code name as the Manhattan Project. The very first research was placed at only a few universities such as Columbia University, University of Chicago, and the University in California at Berkeley. The

The Berlin Wall stood for almost thirty years. The wall represented post-war repression of human rights, disrespect, conflict and disharmony. The Cold War threatened the world with the risk of military conflict, that if it had escalated into nuclear confrontation between powers, there would exist complete annihilation of human kind. The sad reality is that war could be fought using nuclear weapons. An atomic bomb is a nuclear weapon that has tremendous destructive potential. "If there is any hope to be found in nuclear weapons, it of the fact that they have finally made war too terrible to contemplate" ("The Making of..." 2). The history of the atomic bomb goes back to 1934. An Italian-American physicist named Enrico Fermi began experimentation on uranium and neutrons. Not completely convinced of his experiments being a success, two other scientists repealed Fermi 's work in 1938. Otto Frisch and Lise Meitner proved that the "uranium nuclei in Fermi 's experiment had been fissioned by the neutrons fired at them" ("Atomic Bomb" 1). The results of these experiments lead to events of the beginning of the Cold War.

(Doc C). Next, Winston Churchill’s recollection of the Potsdam Conference also emphasized the need to end the war before Soviet intervention. It seemed to be a mutual agreement between the U.S. and Britain that the two powers should not need the Red Army to end the war with Japan (Doc E). Finally, nuclear physicist Leo Szilard’s recollection of a 1945 meeting between James Byrnes and a group of concerned atomic scientists supports the idea that America dropped the atomic bomb to intimidate the U.S.S.R. The scientists were very concerned about the rapid spreading of Russian influence in Europe, which probably contributed to the U.S. policy of containment. Due to this fear, James Byrnes and the atomic scientists believed that demonstrating the bomb would make the Soviet Union more manageable in Europe. One can also argue that this approach can be related the John Foster Dulles theory of massive retaliation, which is the belief that the threat of “massive of retaliation” with nuclear weapons would stop Soviet aggression. Therefore, one can argue that the dropping of the atomic bomb was a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union and one can argue that this idea was backed by the theories of containment and massive retaliation.

U.S. intelligence operatives reported that scientists working for Adolf Hitler were already working on a nuclear weapon.

The book Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon is a thrilling, fast-paced story that refines a great deal of history into interesting and understandable literature for practically any age reader. The author, Steve Sheinkin, writes to tell the story of the first atomic bomb, the people who made it possible, and those who challenged its progress. Any person who is interested in science, history, or would like an enjoyable, quick read could read Bomb and easily understand the basics behind the creation of the atomic bomb. Along with the science and mathematics of the atomic bomb, Sheinkin adds the suspense and intrigue from the viewpoints of espionage agents from the Soviet Union, Germany, Great Britain, and the

I believe your conduct in putting into the hands of the Russians the A-bomb years before our best scientists predicted Russia would perfect the bomb has already caused, in my opinion, the Communist aggression in Korea, with the resultant casualties exceeding fifty thousand and who knows how many millions more of innocent people may pay the price of your treason.” (Rosenberg Trial Overview,

President Truman walked around the table to speak directly to Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, however was surprised and nervous that Stalin did not ask later for more information on the bomb. Red Joan delves into the impact of espionage on global politics and scientific development during the Cold

The investigation began when the FBI found a name, Klaus Fuchs, written in a notebook of a Russian spy. Dr. Fuchs had worked on Manhattan Project (the secret name for the project which worked on the development of the atomic bomb) from 1943 to 1946. When Dr. Fuchs was arrested, he confessed that he was giving the information about the bomb to the Soviet Union. However, Fuchs was not the only one. Harry Gold who was a Philadelphia biochemist said that he was told by his Soviet contact Yakovlev to meet Fuchs in Santa Fe New Mexico on June 2, 1945, where Fuchs would give him

For many, the predominant issue of the Cold War was the threat of nuclear weapons. Stalin had learned of the Manhattan Project by 1943 and begun the development of a Soviet bomb. Were it not for the Manhattan Project, this threat would not have existed and the Cold War would not have been.

At the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II scientist started to develop new ways to to react to wars.Scientist like Julius Robert Oppenheimer with the help of Albert Einstein created the first atomic bomb called the “Little Boy” and the “FatMan”. Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. He was incharge of gather the best minds to develop weapons of mass destruction. Oppenheimer along with 200 other physics developed weapons that would change the world forever.

The decision to drop the atomic bomb, made by President Truman, was largely influenced by political factors rather than military factors. Traditionalist historians argue from the military perspective that the bomb was used to end the war as quickly as possible and with as minimal causalities as possible. Revisionist historians, on the other hand, argue the political perspective where they believe that the bomb was dropped as a diplomatic tool to intimidate the rising superpower that was the Soviet Union. In 1945, there was little reason to doubt the traditionalist perspective; however, in retrospect, with the evidence now gathered and available, it was very likely there were other strategic reasons that played a larger role in the decision Truman had made. By observing the historical timeline, the Cold War began shortly after World War II. Truman was aware of the rising power of the USSR and the threat of the spread of communism into Europe and Asia. The fear of this threat was what likely influenced him and Congress to use the bomb more so than the desire to end the war more efficiently.

In August 1949, about four years after the war was over, the Soviet Union made public the fact that they had its first atomic bomb tested, after verifying the accuracy of this reports, the President Truman decided the best way to response was announcing the increase of military funds and announced his desire to build a hydrogen bomb. Questions followed the news and the FBI started to investigate, they talked to Klaus Funchs, Harry Gold and David Greenlass before talking with the Rosenbergs, they gave the FBI all the information they apparently had, but the Julius Rosenberg denied their involvement in the leaked information, the FBI released him until they found further proof and on July 17, 1950 he was arrested. On August, 1950 Ethel Rosenberg was arrested and her and her husband were charged with conspiracy, since it was easier to prove their intentions than the