Robert Meeropol is the younger son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. In 1953, when he was six years old, the United States Government executed his parents for “conspiring to steal the secret of the atomic bomb.” In 1957, he and his brother were adopted by Abel and Anne Meeropol. Abel Meeropol is the author of the words and music of the anti-lynching anthem, Strange Fruit.
For over 50 years he has been a progressive activist, author and public speaker. In the 1970’s he and his brother, Michael, successfully sued the FBI and CIA to force the release of 300,000 previously secret documents about their parents. He graduated law school in 1985.
In 1990, after leaving private practice, Robert founded the Rosenberg Fund for Children. He served as its Executive Director until he retired from that position when his daughter took over the Fund’s leadership in 2013 (Robert’s goodbye to the RFC is available in his last executive director’s report). Robert remains on the RFC’s Board of Directors.
Robert is the author of AN EXECUTION IN THE FAMILY: One Son's Journey. This political memoir chronicles his journey from childhood victim of McCarthy-era repression; to 1960's militant activist; to politically engaged parent and law student; to founder and leader of the RFC. Michael Moore declared AN EXECUTION IN THE FAMILY is, "Inspirational . . . moving . . . engaging . . . should be required reading." And Howard Zinn said, "What is compelling about Robert Meeropol's poignant memoir is his utter honesty in examining the question of whether his parents were guilty of espionage…His story is a personal, anguished search for truth, even while it illuminates a tragic moment in the history of our country."
In 2022 Robert, along with his brother, Michael, made a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request of the National Security Agency (NSA) for classified files in its possession relating to Ethel Rosenberg. In August, 2024, the NSA released a file it had kept secret for 74 years in which its chief analyst concluded that Ethel Rosenberg was not a spy.