[12], Soon after Margaretha's father went bankrupt in 1889, her parents divorced, and her mother died in 1891. Since the girl’s father refused to allow them to have one through the mail, the desperate mother hatched a plan to kidnap Non, who was then thirteen. To seek revenge on MacLeod it was believed the soldier poisoned the children. She arrived penniless and decided to pose as a model after she worked in one of the popular equestrian circuses where she performed a "temple dance" upon the back of a horse. Proudly created with Wix.com, Author Waagenaar rates the most absurd story associated with Mata Hari as Kurt Singer's (. Though the letter to MacLeod was met with a certain acceptance, no meeting ever occurred between Mata Hari and her daughter even though at one time both were living in The Hague. On August 10, 1919, she went to bed planning to take a ship the next day. Like what you read? [7] Despite traditional assertions that Mata Hari was partly of Jewish,[8] Malaysian,[9] or Javanese, i.e. In 1903, Zelle moved to Paris, where she performed as a circus horse rider using the name Lady MacLeod, much to the disapproval of the Dutch MacLeods.Struggling to earn a living, she also posed as an artist's model. [40] At her trial, Zelle vehemently insisted that her sympathies were with the Allies and declared her passionate love of France, her adopted homeland. The largest ever Mata Hari exhibition was opened in the Museum of Friesland on 14 October 2017, one hundred years after her death. The marriage was an overall disappointment. There she was arrested and brought to London where she was interrogated at length by Sir Basil Thomson, assistant commissioner at New Scotland Yard in charge of counter-espionage. The building suffered smoke and water damage during a fire in 2013, but was later restored. Two stories subsequently circulated through Medan. In the end there seemed to be no effort on Juana-Luisa's part or her mother's to finally meet face to face. [4], Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born 7 August 1876 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Zelle did not have the resources to fight the situation and accepted it, believing that while MacLeod had been an abusive husband, he had always been a good father. [30], In December 1916, the Second Bureau of the French War Ministry let Mata Hari obtain the names of six Belgian agents. [23] The Deuxième Bureau believed she might be able to obtain information by seducing the Crown Prince for military secrets. However, by this time she had become a successful courtesan, known more for her sensuality and eroticism than for her beauty. The family fell apart, and Margaretha was sent to live with her godfather, Mr. Visser, in Sneek. Zelle was met by agents from the Deuxième Bureau who told her that she would be allowed to see Maslov if she agreed to spy for France. Jeanne survived, but Norman died. [12] In 1899, their children fell violently ill from complications relating to the treatment of syphilis contracted from their parents,[15] though the family claimed they were poisoned by an irate servant. Portrait of Mata Hari (public domain photo colorized by Olga Shirnina) Margaretha Geertruida Zelle (1876–1917) was born in in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, to Adam Zelle and his first wife Antje van der Meulen. In 2000, archivists discovered that it had disappeared, possibly as early as 1954, according to curator Roger Saban, during the museum's relocation. Supposedly, secret ink was found in her room, which was incriminating evidence in that period. [28] The Deuxième Bureau intercepted the messages and, from the information they contained, identified H-21 as Mata Hari. Nearly two years after her mother's execution Juana-Luisa decided to move to the Dutch Indies and teach kindergarten children. MacLeod was transferred to Java and Griet and her daughter lived separately from John in a legal separation. I have heard so many rumors about her life in Paris, but every time I ask my father about what happened, he gets terribly vague." When their mother, Griet MacLeod, discovered the horror, a Dutch doctor was summoned but he could save the life only of Juana-Luisa - Norman, just two-and-a-half years old, was dead. In 2016, an information centre (belevingscentrum) was created in the building displaying mementos of Mata Hari. MacLeod was known to a have a short temper that he displayed in his work and at home. "[34] Likewise, the British historian Julie Wheelwright stated: "She really did not pass on anything that you couldn’t find in the local newspapers in Spain. On March 20 the First Channel will premiere the 12-series film "Mata Hari". The disenchanted Zelle abandoned him temporarily, moving in with Van Rheedes, another Dutch officer. [20] In the meantime, Ladoux had been preparing a case against his former agent by casting all of her activities in the worst possible light, going so far as to engage in evidence tampering. "I am ready." In 1995, the Israeli singer Ofra Haza released a single titled "Mata hari" about her accompanied by a music video. A non-commissioned officer then walked up to her body, pulled out his revolver, and shot her in the head to make sure she was dead. Mata was a princess of noble Indian birth, raised in Indonesia and trained from childhood in the ancient art of dance. Richard Deacon details the story in his Spyclopedia under the title "Mata Hari's Daughter" citing authors Bernard Newman (whom Deacon calls a "highly conscientious source"), Singer, and Charles Franklin. In 1899, two-year-old Norman died after reportedly being poisoned by a … Her relationships and liaisons with powerful men frequently took her across international borders. Mata Hari - A Biography, Appleton Century, New York, 1965, pp. He called MacLeod "unbalanced," and Griet claimed that he had threatened her with a pistol. Her near-naked dances weren’t for titalation – they were sacred religious acts. He relates the similar connection to Mata Hari but like most other writers believes that there was no relation between Mata Hari and Gertrude Banda, but says a woman named Banda did spy in Indonesia and was executed by the Chinese Communists, citing Howe, McCormick, and Ostrovsky as the basis for the Banda story. She moved with her husband to Malang on the east side of the island of Java, traveling out on the SS Prinses Amalia in May 1897. She had always been fascinated with the romance of Paris and finally decided she would go there. [2][3] She was executed by firing squad in France. As a Dutch subject, Zelle was thus able to cross national borders freely. She never woke up. Zelle's father was a hat maker by trade, but having invested well in oil, he had enough money to spoil his only daughter. In 1899, for reasons that … Condition:--not specified. Henry Wales was a British reporter who covered the execution. She had died in her sleep, and in the end a survivor of a murder attempt, abandoned by her mother, victim of lies about her life, and a young woman forced to bear the execution of a mother she barely knew. [47][48] Records dated from 1918 show that the museum also received the rest of the body, but none of the remains could later be accounted for. Griet suffered an attack of typhoid fever. Mata Hari: The True Story Prior to World War I, she was generally viewed as an artist and a free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as a wanton and promiscuous woman, and perhaps a dangerous seductress. [12] She was never seen bare-chested as she was self-conscious about having small breasts. [1] Howe, Russell Warren. [23] Dancer, temptress, spy - Margareta Zelle, aka Mata Hari, goes behind the scenes as a spy during World War I. [20], In 1917, France had been badly shaken by the Great Mutinies of the French Army in the spring of 1917 following the failure of the Nivelle Offensive together with a huge strike wave, and at the time many believed that France might simply collapse as a result of war exhaustion. [10] Her father owned a hat shop, made investments in the oil industry, and became affluent enough to give Margaretha and her siblings a lavish early childhood[11] that included exclusive schools until the age of 13. The MacLeods were a military family, whose patriarch, John, bore the title of Chief Netherlands Military Officer, the garrison commander for the local Dutch Colonial Army. [13], Although Mata Hari's claims about her origins were fictitious, it was very common for entertainers of her era to invent colorful stories about their origins as part of the show. Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (/ˈmɑːtə ˈhɑːri/), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. John MacLeod, a Scotsman serving in the Dutch Colonial Army, played the roles of father, husband, and military officer. To avoid the battlefields, she traveled between France and the Netherlands via Spain and Britain, and her movements inevitably attracted attention. He gave an account of this in his 1922 book Queer People, saying that she eventually admitted to working for the Deuxième Bureau. On 13 March 1915, she performed in what would be the last show of her career. Ticket also serves as a one-night “guest key” allowing show attendees access to The House of Mata Hari "[20] Zelle has often been portrayed as a femme fatale, the dangerous, seductive woman who uses her sexuality to effortlessly manipulate men, but others view her differently: in the words of the American historians Norman Polmer and Thomas Allen she was "naïve and easily duped", a victim of men rather than a victimizer. Proudly created with. [32], Zelle's principal interrogator, who grilled her relentlessly, was Captain Pierre Bouchardon; he was later to prosecute her at trial. Zelle admitted to Bouchardon that she had accepted 20,000 francs from a German diplomat in the Netherlands to spy on France, but insisted she only passed on to the Germans trivial information as her loyalty was entirely to her adopted nation, France. She was affectionately called "M'greet" by her family. They had two children, Norman-John MacLeod (1897–1899) and Louise Jeanne MacLeod (1898–1919). In only a few weeks she created a new persona for herself that would become a European legend. AFTER 8:30PM Tickets will be sold at the door. Jeanne later died at the age of 21, also possibly from complications related to syphilis. She studied Indonesian culture intensely for several months and joined a local dance company during that time. [14] MacLeod was an alcoholic and regularly beat Zelle, whom he blamed for his lack of promotion. In the early-morning hours of October 15, Mata Hari was awakened and taken by car from her Paris prison cell to an army barracks on the city's outskirts where she was to meet her fate. Mata Hari is located in the Belongil Beach district of Byron Bay, a 7-minute walk from Main Beach, 1.1 miles from Clarkes Beach and 1.5 miles from Arakwal National Park. Gabriel Astruc became her personal booking agent. Her life inspired a number of films, including: Mata Hari's life also inspired at least five stage musicals: In the 1992 TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Indiana Jones has a romance with Mata Hari (portrayed by Domiziana Giordano) and gets involved in her espionage. By 1905, Mata Hari began to win fame as an exotic dancer. Mata Hari married the Captain in 1895 at the age of 19 and her lavish lifestyle returned once again. [27], In late 1916, Zelle traveled to Madrid, where she met with the German military attaché Major Arnold Kalle and asked if he could arrange a meeting with the Crown Prince. She contended that it was part of her makeup. Some sources[12] maintain that one of MacLeod's enemies may have poisoned their supper to kill both of their children. Mata Hari: The True Story [Howe, Russell Warren] on Amazon.com. She had three younger brothers; Johannes Hendriks, Arie Anne, and Cornelis Coenraad. Abc-Clio, children of mata hari Barbara, California, 1993, pp show of her Espionage life it but did n't why., an information centre ( belevingscentrum ) was born 7th August 1876, Sneek... Not bound and refused a blindfold decided she would go there Dutch East Indies at that time name on. Nearly two years after her mother's execution Juana-Luisa decided to move to the Dutch Indies and teach kindergarten children. The messages were in a code that German intelligence knew had already been broken by the French, suggesting that the messages were contrived to have Zelle arrested by the French. Her style and free-willed attitude made her a popular woman, as did her eagerness to perform in exotic and revealing clothing. [11][12][13] A few months later, she fled to her uncle's home in The Hague.[13]. She lost both of her children. She moved to Indonesia with her husband where she gave birth to two children, Norman-John MacLeod and Louise Jeanne MacLeod. Waagenaar declares that not even the time is correct. She was accused of acting as a double agent for … Critics would later write about this and other such movements within the context of Orientalism. Women in Espionage - A Biographical Dictionary, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California, 1993, pp. Mata Hari was arrested in a luxury Paris hotel in February 1917, and her closed-door trial took place five months later. Struggling to earn a living, she also posed as an artist's model. Mata Hari had a servant named Anna Lintjens to whom the dancer was unusually close. No one ever was prosecuted and the real reason for the poisonings was never discovered. By 1902 the marriage seemed to be doomed. While Griet realized her life with John MacLeod was over, she was desperate to find employment. Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born 7 August 1876 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. [31], On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her room at the Hotel Elysée Palace on the Champs Elysées in Paris. [13][16], In 1903, Zelle moved to Paris, where she performed as a circus horse rider using the name Lady MacLeod, much to the disapproval of the Dutch MacLeods. Sign in to check out Check out as guest. It was known in the community that he had given a terrible beating to a native soldier who was in love with the MacLeod household nurse. Griet thought that the nurse had done it but didn't know why. [23], Unaware that the Crown Prince did not have much to do with the running of Army Group Crown Prince or the 5th Army, the Deuxième Bureau offered Zelle one million francs if she could seduce him and provide France with good intelligence about German plans. Klaus Kinski, Lilli Palmer CHILDREN OF MATA HARI '70 #4 Original Lobby Card 218. 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The marriage enabled Zelle to move into the Dutch upper class and placed her finances on a sound footing. The Frisian museum (Dutch: Fries Museum) in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, contains a "Mata Hari Room". During a visit to Jeanne, MacLeod decided not to return her to her mother. He was the son of Captain John Brienen MacLeod (a descendant of the Gesto branch of the MacLeods of Skye, hence his Scottish surname) and Dina Louisa, Baroness Sweerts de Landas. [41] A spokesman from the Mata Hari Foundation argued that at most Zelle was a low-level spy who provided no secrets to either side, stating: "We believe that there are sufficient doubts concerning the dossier of information that was used to convict her to warrant re-opening the case. [21] She had begun her career relatively late for a dancer and had started putting on weight. Maybe she wasn't entirely innocent, but it seems clear she wasn't the master-spy whose information sent thousands of soldiers to their deaths, as has been claimed. According to Singer, Banda develops into a Japanese spy before the Second World War and an Indonesian patriot during the war, and was shot as a spy by Chinese communists in Korea at 5:45 a.m., the same time her mother was shot. [57]. Then she fell backward, bending at the waist, with her legs doubled up beneath her." 15-16. The episode was written by Carrie Fisher, based on a story by George Lucas. After moving back to the Netherlands, the couple officially separated on 30 August 1902. [23] The fact that the Crown Prince had, before 1914, never commanded a unit larger than a regiment, and was now supposedly commanding both an army and an army group at the same time should have been a clue that his role in German decision-making was mostly nominal. In May 1914, Mata Hari began a six-month engagement at the Metrepol Club in Berlin. Hari’s childhood was initially very affluent thanks to the fact that her father … [17], By 1904, Mata Hari began to rise to prominence as an exotic dancer. [59] In August 2018, it was also produced by West Edge Opera, with Tina Mitchell reprising her starring role.[60]. During the war, Zelle was involved in what was described as a very intense romantic-sexual relationship with a Russian pilot serving with the French, the 23-year-old Captain Vadim Maslov, whom she called the love of her life. In 2021, it has been revealed that the song seleced by Azerbaijan to represent them in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is called Mata Hari. Although she continued to schedule important social events throughout Europe, she was held in disdain by serious cultural institutions as a dancer who did not know how to dance. 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Another Dutch officer ship the next day a kiss to the Netherlands, the couple officially separated 30... Centre ( belevingscentrum ) was created in the Museum of Friesland on October... By biographer Howe 's execution Juana-Luisa decided to move into the house and poisoned the children father … Presenting Hari! To working for the poisonings was never fully understood but a cerebral seemed... Times during this period, nude or nearly so near-naked dances weren ’ t for titalation – they were religious... To John MacLeod, a new government under Georges Clemenceau had come power! Hague but there was the eldest of four children to Adam Zelle ( 1840–1910 ) and his First wife van! Anatomy in Paris but was later restored of promotion or her mother 12 ] by... The waist, with his father wealthy circles contact with the romance of Paris and finally decided would.

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