Mata Hari: World War I beauty, courtesan or spy?

(Note: In recent weeks we have looked at a number of people and events connected with World War I, which began 100 years ago this summer. One more story seems appropriate -- the still controversial story of Mata Hari, who figured in the highest echelons of diplomatic circles during World War I.)

Margaretha Zelle (Mata Hari was her stage name) was born in the Netherlands in 1876, to a prosperous and influential family. Her early years were ones of privilege, and fine schools. However, at age 13 her circumstances all changed. Her father went bankrupt, which led to the divorce of her parents and the early death of her mother. After that Margaretha went to live with a Godfather, who decided that she should be educated to be a kindergarten teacher.

Perhaps, as an omen of things to come, Margaretha's schooling was cut short when the headmaster made passes at the girl, which so offended her Godfather that he pulled her out of the school. Soon after she fled to a more friendly environment in an uncle's home in The Hague.

At age 18 Margaretha answered a "Lonely Heart" ad in a newspaper and was soon wed to a Colonial Army officer, John McLeod. Together they left for a post in Java, in the East Indies. This was a brief period of relative happiness for Margaretha. As the wife of a military officer she was immediately welcomed into the highest society of the ex --patriots in Java.

In short order the McLeods were the parents of two children, a boy and girl. But the marriage turned out to be stormy. McLeod was alcoholic and regularly took out his drunken rages by physically and verbally beating up on his wife. During this time Margaretha took solace in studying the native dances of the Indonesian natives. Soon she was an accomplished dancer, to the extent that she joined a local dance company, which toured the islands. It was at this time she adopted the name, Mata Hari (which meant "The eye of the day -- the sun")

Upon the couple's return to The Netherlands, in 1903, the marriage broke up, and Margaretha was forced to give up her daughter (the son had died in Java, under mysterious circumstances). Alone, she moved to Paris and attempted to earn a living -- first as a trick rider in a circus, then as an artist's model, and finally, in 1905, as Mata Hari, an exotic dancer in night clubs. When she reinvented herself as a Java Princess, with a royal Hindu bloodline, her popularity really took off. Breathtakingly beautiful, her dances reflected her personality, promiscuous, flirtatious, and provocative. Her costumes were flashy, and she was not above discarding part of her wardrobe during the dance and flaunting her body.

As Mata Hari, the sex queen of Paris, she was an immediate success -- which led to her being taken as the mistress of one of France's richest industrialists. During this period her image appeared frequently in newspapers (and French Post Cards), nearly nude, or dressed in a body stocking, the same color as her own skin, giving the impression of her being nude.

Mata Hari, the sensuous exotic Eastern Dancer, toured the capitals of Europe, not only the west, but also in Rome and Berlin, the countries that would soon be at war with the West.

Alas, by the beginning of World War I Mata Hari's star had begun to fade. She began to show her age, putting on weight -- imitators began to appear, and critics began to pan her act, calling her a performer with no talent, but one that relied on raw exhibitionism in her performances.

Be that as it may, Mata Hari still held an appeal for older -- rich men, who seemed to welcome her charms. Mata Hari was an equal opportunity mistress, and her dalliances took place in diverse locations, in Germany and Italy as well as London and Paris.

Mata Hari continued to be a citizen of The Netherlands. When war broke out The Netherlands remained a neutral county, and as a Dutch citizen Mata Hari was free to travel to the Central Power states as well as the Western Alliance countries -- and she did.

By 1916 and 1917 World War I was in full swing. Trenches had been dug, and the war raged back and forth, with most of the major battles being fought on French soil -- and the war was not going well for the French (US Doughboys did not begin reaching France until late 1917 and were not really a factor in the war until 1918.) The French leaders were desperate for any victory.

Mata Hari was known to be a friend of the French, but since she was also well known across Europe and was known to have friends (or lovers) in the highest levels of the German government. The French, figuring that she might be able to learn some of the Central Power secrets from her German friends, recruited her to be a spy for the French government.

The stories of Maya Hari's espionage activities vary. She vigorously maintained that all of her activities were to enhance her worth as a friend and informer for the French, but admitted that she at one time took money from the Germans. She insisted that the money was for affection and sexual favors, and not as pay for being a German spy.

Be it as it may, by 1917 Mata Hari's life as a French spy or double agent was over. In February of that year the French arrested her for being a German agent. At her trial she was accused of causing the death of 50,000 French soldiers as the result of her feeding sensitive information to the enemy. The trial was something of a sham. Her lawyer (a former lover) was not able to cross examine any of the witnesses, and a Dutch friend (who had provided her with money for some time as his mistress) was not allowed to testify in her behalf. Throughout the trial Mata Hari steadfastly maintained her innocence and friendship to France. It was to no avail. The result of her trial was death by a firing squad.

In October 1917 Mata Hari was executed. The accounts of her last days are interesting. (From the report of a British reporter who was an eye witness of the execution.) In prison she repeatedly declared her innocence -- "I have lived my life for dancing and for pleasure -- nothing else." On the fateful day Mata Hari dressed as if she were going to a high society function -- in a close-fitting blue dress, sheer silk black hose, high heels, wide-brimmed hat, white gloves, and a parasol. She faced her executioners with head high (The squad consisted of 12 crack Zouaves from the French Foreign Legion -- 11 with live ammunition in their rifles, one with a blank cartridge, so no one of the riflemen could know for sure that his was the shot that had killed.)

When her jailer offered her a blindfold she refused, saying that she would face her attackers head on. She even blew the riflemen a kiss as the squad leader gave the signal to fire. The shots rang out. Mata Hari teetered for a moment, then fell to her knees, before she crumpled to the ground. The squad leader delivered the coup de grace and it was over. She was 41.

Since that time in 1917 arguments about the Mata Hari case have raged. One journalist of the day, who was familiar with the incident and Mata Hari, personally. offered his assessment.

"In spite of her worldly ways in affairs of the heart, Mata Hari was like a child in the ways of governments of nations. I don't think she was smart enough to have acted with the duplicity with which she was accused and convicted."

Some have offered the opinion that the French government, in 1917, seized on the Mata Hari incident as a way to divert attention and criticism from failures on the battlefield. And there are many who believe that Mata Hari was indeed a German agent and got what she deserved.

Mata Hari's body was not claimed by family members and was donated to the French Museum of Anatomy, but as of 2000 it had disappeared. No one knows where.

Source: Mata Hari, Spy Dancer; The Execution of Mata Hari, 1917