Judge Irving Kaufman, the Liberal Establishment, and the Rosenberg Case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14452/MR-075-08-2024-01_2Keywords:
State Repression, Biography, History, Media, MovementsAbstract
Michael Meeropol, son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, examines a recent biography of Irving R. Kaufman, the judge who sentenced the Rosenbergs to death. Using his own deep research into his parents' case, Meeropol shows how Kaufman's virulent anti-Communism led him to put his thumb on the scales of justice, despite the later progressive liberalism for which he is often lauded. This in turn reveals a key contradiction: "Liberal democracy is fine as long as the basis of the system is not threatened. When it is…'dangerous' people—Communists and other leftists—are dealt with by any means necessary."Downloads
Published
2024-01-01
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