The USSR was not an official enemy. They still had the status of a ally.
From June 1941 to September 1945 the US supplied the USSR billions in military aid and armaments. The US offered to include the USSR in the post-war support of the Marshall Program in 1947. The Soviets rejected any of that aid.
The Rosenbergs did spy, they did pass nuclear secrets to the Soviets. Their spying occurred during WWII, starting in 1943.
The term “Cold War” was first known to have been used in July 1947. Stalin ordered the blockade of West Berlin on 24 June 1948. The Rosenberg’s last microfilm was passed to an agent on 30 June 1948.
The Soviets say that the information the Rosenbergs passed them was not helpful in their development of a nuclear bomb.
The Rosenbergs were arrested in 1950, tried in 1951, and executed 58 years ago yesterday, 19 June 1953. Pope Pius XII was among many who appealed for them not to be executed.
I have heard those arguments before. After years of denying any culpability, the Rosenberg apologists had to concede they were spies after the release of the Verona papers wherein Soviet documentation did confirm their status as spies. They moved to a new tack that they were innocents aiding an American ally and as a backup the information was not really that important.
1. The Rosenbergs and their cabal went into business before 1941 when the Soviets had a pact with the Nazis. They were communist Soviet partisans and the fact that the Soviets later became a US “ally” during the war was only coincidental to their mission as Stalinist supporters who wanted to advance the Stalinist cause even to the detriment of their country
2.The US offered Marshall aid assistance to Stalin. We aid Palestineans and we also supplied aid to Iraq during the Iraq Iran war. Does that mean anyone supplying nuclear secrets to Hamas or Saddam during the Iran Iraq war should not be treated harshly?
3.The Soviets whenever they mention that the Rosenbergs did not supply them info that led to their development of the bomb are disingenuous. The Rosenbergs supplied them with the corroborative drawings to corroborate info they already had from and Hall and Fuchs who were part of the cabal of spies. That is if we are to believe the Soviets at all.
4.Pope Pius advocated vs their being put to death. Irrelevant. The Church has opposed the death penalty for decades. Popes are always sending entreaties to death penalty state governors to commute death penalty sentences.We should pay them no heed.