1953 Sartre and the Rosenbergs

Sartre wrote an article in 1953 denouncing the Americans’ execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in the face of a worldwide campaign for clemency. The Rosenbergs were guilty of spying for the Soviet Union, their exploits including the transfer of technology that aided the Russians in developing their own nuclear weapons.

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In killing the Rosenbergs, you simply tried to stop scientific progress by a human sacrifice. Magic, witch hunts, autos-da-fe, sacrifices: we’ve reached that point. Your country is sick with fear. You’re afraid of everything: the Russians, the Chinese, the Europeans. You’re afraid of each other. You’re afraid of the shadow of your own bomb.

-- Jean-Paul Sartre

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[Source: Ronald Aronson, “Camus and Sartre”]