Robert Meeropol (born May 14, 1947 as Robert Rosenberg) is an American anthropologist, progressive activist, and author. He is the younger son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Meeropol was born in New York City. His father Julius was an electrical engineer and a member of the Communist Party USA. His mother Ethel (née Greenglass), a union organizer, was also active in the Communist Party USA.
In 1953, when Robert was five years old, his parents were convicted and executed for conspiracy to commit espionage, and specifically for passing secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.
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Early life and education
After the Rosenbergs were arrested, Robert and his older brother Michael lived with their maternal grandmother, Tessie Greenglass. After three months, she was unable to continue such care and placed them in the Hebrew Children's Home. After several months, their paternal grandmother Sophie Rosenberg removed them from the children's home to care for the boys herself. During their stay with her, the boys were allowed to visit their parents in Sing Sing prison. After one year with Sophie, the boys were sent to Toms River, New Jersey to live with the Bach family, friends of the Rosenbergs. They were eventually adopted by the writer and songwriter Abel Meeropol and his wife Anne and took their last name. Meeropol has described these moves between relatives, orphanages, and foster families, and his eventual adoption by Abel and Anne Meeropol, in later essays and in his memoir.