Mata Hari
By Alexandra Madison.
Period 5.
Mata Hari’s real name was Gertrud
Margarete Zelle.
She lived from 1876 to 1917 & was born in the
Netherlands.
Mata Hari stood out in the society of her
time.
She had thick black hair, black eyes and olive skin
when most women had blonde hair, blue eyes and
fair skin.
Mata Hari was well liked in school by
students and teachers.
But she later was kicked out for having a sexual
encounter with a male teacher.
During her childhood, Mata Hari went
from luxury to poverty.
Her father’s hat business went broke and her
mother died when she was 15.
When Mata Hari was 18, she married
Captain Campbell Macleod.
He was abusive and mean, so after having two
children, one of which died from a mysterious
poisoning, Mata Hari filed for divorce and
surprisingly got it.
Mata Hari then travelled to Spain, Monte
Carlo and Germany where she began to
perform.
She said that her dances were a “sacred poem in
which each movement is a word and whose every
word is underlined by music”.
These provocative dances brought
Mata Hari many male suitors.
She would change her history, saying she
was the daughter of an East Indian temple
dancer that died in child birth, to make the
dance and herself more intriguing.
Young men claimed to come to her shows
to learn about Eastern religions.
She mainly danced in Paris. Her hay day was 1905
to 1912.
While dancing, it is said that a German
officer offered Mata Hari money to spy
on the French.
While being interrogated later, she admits to giving
the Germans “old, outdated information”.
Though she had many male suitors, Mata
Hari fell in love with a 25 year old Russian
pilot, Vadim Maslov, flying for the French.
Vadim had been wounded in the war and stationed
at a hospital in France. For permission to visit him,
French officials had Mata Hari agree to spy on the
Germans. She would also receive 1 million francs.
To do this task, Mata Hari would have to
rendezvous with the crown prince.
So, she traveled to Spain, then Holland to cross into
Germany. However on her way to Holland she was
stopped and interrogated by British officials that
warned her not to go into Germany and then sent
her back to Spain.
In Spain, Mata Hari had an affair with
German military Attache, Maj. Kalle.
It is said that after she left, he sent a secret
message to Berlin saying “ spy H-21 proved
valuable”.
Mata Hari then returned to Paris on
January 4th.
Here she was arrested on January 13.
The French were very suspicious that
Mata Hari had been spying for the
Germans.
However they did not have any evidence against
her.
Mata Hari then admitted to taking money
from the Germans.
However she claimed that this money was from
one of her male lovers, and not for spying.
Mara Hari was continuously interrogated
by the French Secret Service.
They found invisible ink, which she said was used
for her make-up and an un-cashed check from the
Germans, both good enough to be considered as
evidence.
She was tried by a closed-court martial &
found guilty.
She then confessed. However, it is not for certain
whether she confessed to spying for the Germans,
French or both.
After being found guilty. Mata Hari was to
be shot by a firing squad.
On October 15, 1917, after refusing to be
blindfolded or tied to the stake, Mata Hari blew a
kiss to the 12-men firing squad right before their
guns broke the morning stillness.
It is not for sure whether Mata Hari was
a spy for the French, Germans, both or
neither.
However, the French were convinced that she was
“one of the greatest spies of the century,
responsible for the death of tens of thousands of
soldiers”(Propaganda). Though she most likely was
not.
Works Cited
Pictures:
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High School- http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~innwigs/ImageArchive/Hobart/HobartIndiana-HighSchool-1914-SS.jpg
Slide 6-http://www.mata-hari.com/mata-hari-en.html
Slide 8- http://www.mata-hari.com/images/mata-hari.com-13.jpg
Slide 2-http://www.boerner.net/jboerner/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/MataHari5.jpg
Slide 5- http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lCm-1v77nrg/SZUCtNXVj7I/AAAAAAAAAPw/vgc3vgU8H04/s320/Mata_Hari_13.jpg
Slide 19- http://www.mata-hari.com/mata-hari-en.html
Slide 3- http://stevekulpa.net/pinball/mata-hari7.jpg
Slide 9-http://bwog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Mata_Hari_1.jpg
Slide 11- http://www.corbisimages.com/images/67/1A39D041-6468-47B0-9472-BC90B687A7AA/NA007606.jpg
Slide 20-http://www.mata-hari.com/images/mata-hari.com-1906.jpg
Slide 15-http://www.ushmm.org/propaganda/assets/images/500x/hitler-wwi.jpg
Slide 13-http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YYMeAu4i7gA/Sx9dLfc9pDI/AAAAAAAAHLs/YGAH9ccBVug/s400/first-world-war-ww1-one-pictures-photos-images-amazing-rareincredible-german-soldiers-010.jpg
Slide 10-http://www.diggerhistory.info/images/german-army/001.jpg
Slide 12- http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4699702680_bb5efbbee4.jpg
Slide 7- http://rlv.zcache.com/casino_cafe_hotel_paris_monte_carlo_1910_vintage_poster-p228025677500526874vsu7_325.jpg
Slide 14-http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/Paris_at_War/Big_Bertha_03.jpg
Slide 18-http://www.mata-hari.com/images/mata-hari.com-1905-2.jpg
Slide 16-http://www.mata-hari.com/images/mata-hari.com-1910-3.jpg
Slide 17-http://www.mata-hari.com/images/mata-hari.com-1916.jpg
Slide 4-http://boudoirqueen.typepad.com/.a/6a00e5518490a0883401156f7600c3970c-800wi
Information:
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www.randomhouse.com/features/spybook/spy/961113.html
www.ww1-propaganda-cards.com/mata_hari.html
www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mata-hari.htm
www.skygaze.com/content/mysteries/MataHari.shtml
www.firstworldwar.com/bio/matahari
www.trutv.com/lirary/crime/terroists_spies/hari/5.html