Life Story and Biography of Ethel Rosenberg
Life Story and Biography of Ethel Rosenberg
Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg was born on September 28, 1915. Along with her parents and 3 brothers, David, Sam and Bernard, she lived on Sheriff Street in the Lower East Side of New York City (“Ethel Rosenberg,” par. 1). Mr. and Mrs. Greenglass raised their children in a strict Jewish home. They attended both Hebrew and public schools growing up (“Ethel Rosenberg,” par. 1). Ethel Greenglass attended Seward Park High School where she graduated 1 year early in hopes that she would go on to college (Green 601).
Like many young girls, Miss Greenglass also had dreams of singing and acting, but her parents quickly dismissed these dreams with reality. She was forced to give up her dream temporarily and enlist in a typing class. Ethel Greenglass kept her singing dream alive by performing at nightclubs in talent competitions. She was offered a job as a professional singer, but at her parents requests she refused (“Ethel Rosenberg,” pars. 3-4). In mid 1931, Greenglass got a job at the National New York Shipping and Packing Company as a stenographer (Green 601). She became involved in citywide strikes during the peak of the depression to improve working conditions and salaries for women. Ethel Greenglass, along with her female co-workers formed a group, which was later known as the Ladies Apparel Shipping Clerks Union. In 1935, they went on strike in hopes of improving their working hours and raise their salaries. The women’s success did not long. Although the women successfully shut down the Company for one day, Miss Greenglass was fired (“Ethel Rosenberg,” par. 9).
In 1937, Ethel Greenglass was involved in a group called the International Seamen’s Union. She was asked to sing at their New Year’s Eve dance, where she finally met Julius Rosenberg. They were introduced by a mutual friend and from then on they knew they were meant to be together (“Ethel Rosenberg,” par. 10). Ethel Greenglass and Julius Rosenberg were married on June 18, 1939. The young couple moved into an “East Side flat” (“Ethel Rosenberg,” par. 11). Julius Rosenberg was a junior engineer at the Army Signal Corps. He made only two-thousand dollars a year (“Ethel Rosenberg,” pars. 10-11). But in 1945 he got fired from his job after...