mata hari

At the age of 29, the Frisian girl Margaretha is an outright media hype in Paris. As Mata Hari, she captivates society audiences with her exotic dance, slowly baring her body. The newspapers can’t stop writing about this sensation. For ten successful years, her name has been synonymous with sensuality and glamour. But her numerous affairs with men in uniform and her travels through Europe during World War I make her suspicious in the eyes of the French secret service. In early 1917 she was arrested on suspicion of espionage for the Germans. Mata Hari dies on October 15 of that year before a French firing squad in the woods near Paris.

Scroll through the page and read the whole story of Mata Hari.

the myth and the girl

In 2017, one hundred years after her death, the Fries Museum hosted the largest Mata Hari exhibition ever: Mata Hari, the myth and the girl. The Fries Museum has a large collection of Mata Hari memorabilia. On this page you get an impression of the woman behind the myth, you can also scroll through her scrapbooks, which give a special insight into her life.
In the permanent exhibition of the Fries Museum 'Ferhaal fan Fryslân' we also pay attention to Mata Hari, where you stand face to face with a beautifully decorated dance costume, attributed to Mata Hari. Don't forget to take a look at her birthplace in Leeuwarden, which has recently been reopened and restored to what it originally was: the hat and cap shop of her father: Adam Zelle.

youth

Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born on August 7, 1876 in Leeuwarden, the eldest child of Antje and Adam Zelle. She grows up in luxury in one of the most posh streets of Leeuwarden, together with her parents and three brothers. Her father owns a thriving hat and cap business, and they are living wealthy. Unfortunately, the success does not last. When her father can no longer afford his expensive lifestyle, he is declared bankrupt and moves to his brother in The Hague. Twelve-year-old Margaretha stays behind with her brothers and mother in a cramped upstairs apartment in Leeuwarden. This ultimately results in a legal separation between Margaretha's parents.

As a young girl, Margaretha is already outgoing and confident. She plays the piano, takes dance lessons and is already learning a little French at her dandy elite school. However, obedience and good behavior are not Margaret's strong points, as one of her school reports shows. Margaretha unfortunately did not complete her school, her results went downhill and after her mother died of tuberculosis at the age of 49, she left school at the age of fourteen. She ends up with her uncle and aunt in Sneek, who send her to the teacher training college for kindergarten teachers in Leiden when she is fifteen. This school career is short-lived when she is suspended after just one year. It is rumored that she was caught in an amorous state with the school principal.

young adult

When she was eighteen she came across a contact ad: 'An 'officer on leave from the Dutch East Indies' is looking for a woman to marry. Margaretha lives with an aunt in The Hague and isn’t afraid of a bit of adventure, so she decides to respond.
On a drizzly Sunday in March she meets Rudolph MacLeod, known as 'John', in Amsterdam at the Rijksmuseum. He is a 39-year-old, hardened professional soldier of aristocratic descent. As a captain in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, he is temporarily on sick leave in the Netherlands. The couple doesn't waste any time and six days later they are engaged. On July 11, 1895, they were married in the city hall of Amsterdam.

marriage

On May 1, 1897 they leave for the Dutch East Indies. John is a prominent officer and they take up residence in a large house with servants. At the age of twenty, Margaretha is the mother of a son, Norman John, and under the Indian sun a daughter is added: Louise Jeanne, nicknamed 'Nonna'.
Unfortunately, the marriage far from a fairy tale. John is a hot-tempered man who is used to giving orders. He is alcoholic, unfaithful and constantly in debt. Margaret, on the other hand, has a fiery temper. As an elegant young woman, she does not leave the men unmoved and she knows it. She likes to flirt, much to her husband's fury.

The socialite life among the high-ranking military is going well for Margaretha. As a charming officer's wife, she accompanies John at dinners, parties and dances. She is more in her element there than at home as a mother. Margaretha is eloquent, lively and theatrical and has her own ambitions. For example, she shines in the leading role of an amateur musical that receives good reviews.

When John retires as a major, the family moves to an isolated village. Margaretha is deeply unhappy and the marriage is on the verge of collapsing. John is bitter and ambitious. He publicly belittles Margaretha and accuses her of being stupid and superficial.

early  death

In the early summer of 1899, the children suddenly become seriously ill. The army doctor comes to help, but he’s too late. Little Norman, 2.5 years old, dies under suspicious circumstances. Nonnie, just a year old, barely survives. John and Margaretha are inconsolable.

The story goes that the children were poisoned by the nanny. It is more likely that Norman died of treatment for syphilis. John passed on this venereal disease to Margaretha. She infected her children with it through birth. The family is treated with toxic mercury, as is customary at the time. That probably killed their son.

 

paris

In 1903 Margaretha leaves for Paris for the first time. She hopes to earn a living here in an honorable way, so she can get Nonnie back. She is looking for work as a companion and model, and gives lessons in piano and 'German conversation'.
It is a poor life and Margaretha returns to the Netherlands defeated. She is now desperate and penniless. She is forced to reduce herself to prostitution. The family pulls their hands off her and in June 1904 she leaves for Paris for good.

mata hari was born

From the ashes of Margaret rises the phoenix of Mata Hari. In Paris, she decides to capitalize on her attractive appearance. She creates erotic Indian temple dances, which she performs passionately. It is exotic, mysterious and sensual. It's exactly what the public wants.

On March 13th 1905, she had her breakthrough. Under the stage name Mata Hari - Malay for 'eye of the day' - she performs in Musée Guimet. The entire Parisian elite is present and she is an instant sensation. The newspapers are ecstatic. Margaretha's dances are thrilling, daring, completely new and very artistic.
Margaretha is an enchanting woman. She is remarkably tall, incredibly stylish, eloquent and very charming. Soon Mata Hari makes a triumphant tour down all the famous theaters in Europe. It is the start of a brilliant career. In no time there will be no theater in Europe without Mata Hari performing there. She performs on the stages of world-famous theaters such as the Scala in Milan, the Olympia in Paris and the Opera of Monte Carlo.
A costume becomes Margaretha's trademark. She always wears a richly decorated hairdress and a variety of exotic jewelry. She combines the sparkling brassiere with translucent veils that she winds around her body.

heyday

During her heyday, Margaretha received 10,000 francs (37,000 euros now) for a show. She is so popular that her name is used for cigarettes, liqueurs and other products. Around 1907 she is a short-lived millionaire, but she spends the money as quickly as it comes in.
Margaretha is the epitome of grace and elegance. Everywhere she goes, eyes are on her. She became a popular social figure and regularly appeared in the magazines, including Vogue.

admired and coveted

Wherever Margaret is, she always has lovers. She likes to flirt and suitors line up for her. She prefers high-ranking officers and noble types. Despite her lucrative dancing career, they financed her extravagant lifestyle from 1908 to 1912.
So did the French banker Rousseau. He rents a castle for Margaretha - and later a villa - with carriage, riding horses and staff. Another lover gave her 300,000 Reichsmark (just under 900,000 euros) as a parting gift.

spy in the war

On August 3th, 1914, Germany declares war on France. The First World War breaks out and everything changes. The lights are off and the show is over. Performing is no longer possible. Margaretha depends on her lovers for income.
Because the Netherlands is neutral, Margaretha is allowed to travel freely through Europe. She’s in Berlin when the First World War breaks out and there she is declared a citizen of the French enemy by the Germans. The bank freezes her assets and, to her indignation, Germany confiscates her belongings, including her precious fur coats. She leaves Germany to try her luck elsewhere.
But everywhere she goes, she attracts male attention. Also those of unwelcome parties: in no time she has the German, British and French intelligence services keeping an eye on her.

She wants to go back to Paris to get her dancing career off the ground again, but in vain. So she decides to go to The Hague again. What she doesn't know, however, is that wherever she goes, she's being shadowed by intelligence agencies: the British, the French, the Germans, they're all watching her.

One evening in May 1916, Margaretha receives a visit from the German consul Cremer in The Hague. He knows she is going to Paris and wants to recruit her as a spy. As a traveling artist, she is extremely suitable for this.
Cremer asks if she wants to collect intelligence 'of all kinds' as 'agent H21'. He already offers her 20,000 francs (about 50,000 euros). Although Margaretha thinks that's not enough, she still takes it - in her own words, with the plan never to do anything for the money. But she could use the money and after all, she sees it as payment for the fur coats the Germans stole from her in 1914.

Once she’s back in Paris, Margaretha resumes her glamorous life. Her many lovers are not the only ones here who love to see her. The French intelligence service also has her in their sights and she has been shadowed from the day after her arrival. All in the hope of catching her in pro-German activities.

in the lion's den

In Paris, Margaretha conceived the plan to make a trip to Vittel: a luxurious spa near the front line. She has fallen in love with a young Russian captain. In Vittel she can meet him, under the guise of ailing health. Because Vittel is in the military zone, Margaretha needs a special travel permit. A lover refers her to the Immigration Office, located at 282 Boulevard Saint-Germain. However, the headquarters of the French intelligence service is also located there.

She ends up in the office of Captain Ladoux, the head of the French intelligence service. He has been warned about Margaret by the British and he is the one who has been shadowing her for a month.
Ladoux’s day couldn’t get any better: his suspect is thrown into his lap! He wins her trust and approves her travel document. Although the surveillances have yielded nothing yet, he is convinced that she is spying for the Germans. This is his chance to catch her in the act.

When Margaretha is back from Vittel, Ladoux sets his trap. He makes her believe that he wants to recruit her as a French spy for the Belgium area. Margaretha also senses an opportunity and asks for the main prize: one million francs (2.5 million euros). She is in serious need of money and wants to marry the Russian captain.
She will receive further instructions in the Netherlands, Ladoux claims. Payment follows when the mission is completed. Margaretha confidently sets to work.

trapped

When she can't complete her original mission for France, Margaretha decides to improvise. In Madrid, she seduces Major Kalle, a dreaded German. She identifies herself as a German spy and passes him some "harmless" information.
At the same time, she approaches the French colonel Denvignes, who she informs that she is a French spy. She tells what information she has obtained from Kalle and asks him to pass this on to the French intelligence service. She also sends a few letters to Ladoux herself.

Meanwhile Kalle sends a series of telegrams to the German intelligence service. He reports what 'agent H21' has told him and asks for advice on her payment. The telegrams are intercepted and decrypted by the French. They conclude that Agent H21 must be Margaretha. Without knowing it, Margaretha has been caught.

As a French spy, Margaretha doesn't take secrecy very seriously. From Madrid she writes an uncoded letter to Ladoux by regular mail. She has tricked Kalle into believing that a German submarine will land enemy officers in Morocco, which is French territory at that time. It has long been speculated whether Margaretha ever actually spied for the French. This letter definitively proves that she has indeed done so.

Suddenly, none of her contacts respond. The German major seems to have lied to her in Madrid and there is no one to verify her story.
Now Margaretha is getting suspicious. She realizes that she is being shadowed and wants to go to the Netherlands as soon as possible. In the meantime, Ladoux is preparing the arrest request. Three days later, on Tuesday morning, February 13, 1917, she is arrested on suspicion of espionage for the German enemy.

arrest

It is May 21th, 1917. Margaretha Zelle has been held in a Paris prison for three months. She used to shine as an international star, but now, much to her indignation, she has been locked up as an ordinary prostitute. Although she thought she was doing a good job as a spy for the French, she was accused of German espionage.

After ten interrogations, she is mentally broken and decides to open up. Yes, she took money from the Germans. Yes, she was codenamed H21. But she certainly never spied for Germany. Doesn't her work prove her loyalty to France?
But Captain Bouchardon, the Council Martial's tenacious chief investigator, is convinced of her guilt. In the light of the First World War, the precise truth is not very important. The troops are in bad shape and France could use a public success. Before the trial begins, Margaret has already lost.

On July 4th, Margaretha is officially charged with pro-German espionage activities. On behalf of the French state, Captain Bouchardon summons her to appear in court. The French state accuses Margaretha of maintaining covert contact with the Germans, gathering intelligence and passing on information to the German enemy. Especially Margaretha's suspicious travels and her dubious contacts with some high-ranking Germans are heavily blamed on her. 
Bouchardon cannot prove that she actually provided the Germans with incriminating information. It doesn't matter to him either. Under military law, simply maintaining contact with the enemy is tantamount to guilt.

The French Court Martial passes the death sentence. The seven judges ruled swiftly and mercilessly. Despite the meager evidence, the judges found her guilty on all counts. Her accusers smugly speak of "arguably the greatest female spy of our century."

execution

It is a cold autumn morning, October 15th, 1917. Paris is still fast asleep when Margaret is taken from death row to the Vincennes firing range. At the execution site, the firing squad is already set to shoot her. Margaretha has decided to face her execution with her head held high. She does not want her hands tied and refuses the traditional blindfold. Some eyewitnesses even claim that she even blows a kiss to her accusers one last time before the platoon opens fire. It is a routine operation and just after sunrise Margaretha is dead. She turned 41 years old.

The European newspapers are cheering. They hail the "unmasking" of this conscienceless spy and her execution as a great success. Meanwhile, the French state is auctioning Margaretha's possessions to pay off the costs of the trials. Her body will be donated to a teaching hospital. Margaretha, once one of the most desirable women in Europe, is heartlessly cut up as practice material.

the end of a family

The execution of 'Mata Hari' is also big news in the Netherlands. Margaretha's daughter Nonnie experiences it through the newspapers. The shame is great. Nonnie is about to leave for the Dutch East Indies as a teacher when she suddenly dies. On August 10th, 21 years old, she suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage. The cause may be the syphilis she acquired from her father through birth.

Two weeks before Margaretha is executed, her ex-husband John marries his third wife. In 1921 they have a daughter who John names after the deceased Nonnie. He dies in 1928.

the legend lives on

With Margaret's death, a legend is born. The first film about her life will be released within two years. Many will follow. From Greta Garbo's Mata Hari (1931) to Jeanne Moreau's Mata Hari, Agent H21 (1964), the combination of cold-blooded spy, evil maneater and bewitching femme fatale has an irresistible Hollywood appeal.

Mata Hari receives television series, musicals, pop songs and ballads, historical novels and scientific studies. Mata Hari perfumes, liqueurs and cigarettes appear. Margaretha's fabulous life leaves many biographers speculating wildly. A motley crew of writers produces hundreds of books, often loosely based on the truth.

Her fame lives on in everything. Despite her death, Margaretha Geertruida Zelle turned out to be immortal.