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Mata Hari

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Mata Hari (mä`tə hä`rē), 1876–1917, Dutch dancer and spy in German service during World War I. Her real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle. A dancer in Paris, she joined the German secret service in 1907, and during the war she betrayed important military secrets confided to her by the many high Allied officers who were on intimate terms with her. In 1917 she was arrested, convicted, and executed by the French.

Bibliography

See biography by S. Waagenaar (1965).


Mata Hari

 orig. Margaretha Geertruida Zelle

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Mata Hari.
(credit: H. Roger-Viollet/Harlingue)
(born Aug. 7, 1876, Leeuwarden, Neth.—died Oct. 15, 1917, Vincennes, near Paris, France) Dutch courtesan and alleged spy in World War I. In 1895 she married Campbell MacLeod, a Scottish officer, and lived in Java and Sumatra (1897–1902), after which they returned to Europe and separated. In 1905 she began to dance in Paris, calling herself Mata Hari (a Malay expression for the sun). Beautiful and exotic and willing to dance virtually nude, she soon had numerous lovers, including military officers. Details of her spying activities are unclear, but she apparently spied for Germany from 1916. She was arrested by the French in 1917, tried by a military court, and shot by firing squad.


Mata Hari
real name Gertrud Margarete Zelle. 1876--1917, Dutch dancer in France, who was executed as a German spy in World War I

Mata Hari
(1876–1917) courtesan executed by French for German espionage (1917). [Ger. Hist.: EB, VI: 683]
See : Spying


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1917: Mata Hari, legendary Dutch spy who danced in the nude, was executed by a firing squad in Paris.
She is the most significant capture in five years," former CIA agent John Kiriakou told ABC News, adding that she lives up to her reputation as an "alleged terrorist Mata Hari.
She is the most significant capture in five years," former CIA agent John Kiriakou told ABC News, adding that she lives up to her reputation as an "alleged terrorist Mata Hari.
 
 
 
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