[CharlesOConnell]

Prokofiev was a dedicated Communist who defended Ethel and Juius Rosenberg—who turned out to be guilty of Atomic spying. The Lieutenant Kije suite Prokofiev wrote for the film of the same name is quite explicit class-warfare propaganda.

[sphinx]

A side note on the Rosenbergs. The communist party and the fellow travelling left waged a long campaign to assert the Rosenberg's innocence. That is an old story. A dimension too little remarked on, however, is the extraordinary success of the left in keeping the focus on atomic espionage. The fact is, Julius had been running a quite extensive industrial espionage spy ring for years. The Los Alamos connection fell into his lap when his brother in law was assigned there, as a machinist.

Still today one encounters people on the left who express doubts about the Rosenbergs' guilt, and even some who still assert their innocence. (These are clueless wonders who haven't learned anything in 40 years.) In my experience, none of these people have a clue about the broader scope of Julius' spying. Of this, there has never been any doubt. There were multiple convictions and confessions, and a number of associates who fled the country. This, of course, is why the left wants to keep the industrial espionage out of the debate. They have largely succeeded. This is one more small example of how dishonest framing contaminates a political and historical debate.