Abraham Cronbach - Rosenbergs

Rosenbergs

In 1952 Cronbach became a sponsor of the Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case and worked for the committee for the next two years. Cronbach carried on an active letter writing campaign that urged others to help secure clemency for the rosenbergs. "In May 1953, a Conference of Inquiry was held, sponsored by such people as Rabbi Abraham Cronbach and Mary Church Terrell on the national level."

On June 16, 1953 Rabbi Cronbach met with President Eisenhower to urge him to pardon the Rosenbergs. Cronbach compiled a book about his experience with the Rosenberg case.

Cronbach appeared with Julius Rosenberg's mother and the Rosenbergs two small sons at a protest meeting in front of the White House after the Rosenbergs had been found guilty. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed at Sing Sing prison in New York on June 19, 1953, more than two years after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. Cronbach gave a eulogy at the Rosenberg's funeral on June 21, 1953. "Rabbi Cronbach's impassioned eulogy is an eloquent statement against excessive punishment and in favor of the positive synergy existing between American patriotism and Judaism."

Rabbi Cronbach's eulogy for the Rosenbergs can be found in the Abraham Cronbach collection at the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.