The name of the exotic dancer Mata Hari has become a household name, she embodied the archetype of the attractive and deadly spy, "honey trap". She was generously paid for her dancing, but she paid the dearest price herself. Years after her execution, officials admitted that there was no evidence against her, and there was no, her death was the result of political games, but the legend of the fatal seductress is stronger than the dry truth of the official protocols.
Mata Hari was born on August 7, 1876 in the small town of Lewurden in the Netherlands. At birth, the girl received a beautiful, but familiar name for the Scandinavian ear - Margareta-Gertrude Zelle. Until the age of 15, Margaret's life was prosperous and serene. The second child in the family, the only spoiled girl, she received the best education in privileged educational institutions and did not know anything about refusal. Her father, the hatter Adam Zelle, made a number of successful investments in the oil business and did not skimp on his beloved daughter. But in 1889, Adam suddenly went bankrupt, fell into depression, and then left his family, divorced his wife and did not take any more part in the fate of Margaret. The girl's mother died two years later, and the child was in the care of the godfather.
The girl was placed in a school, it was assumed that there she would receive the profession of a kindergarten teacher, but the director of this educational institution showed too ambiguous interest in Margaret, a scandal erupted, and the family decided to send the young beauty in her uncle to The Hague. There she met a young officer, Rudolph MacLeod, and married him in March 1895. The newlyweds go to their husband's duty station in Indonesia. After 7 years, the McLeods return to Holland and get divorced. Margaret is left not only without male support, but also penniless, and, much worse, she does not know how to do anything, she has no profession. A young woman decides to go to Paris.
In 1905, a new exotic "star" rises on the French scene. Her name is Mata Hari, she is the daughter of an Indian princess and a Scottish baron, she was brought up in a sacred Indian temple and learned ancient dances from the priestesses, who gave her such an exotic name that translated from Malay means "eye of the day." It is believed that this legend for the former Margaret was invented by Monsieur Guimet, the owner of the Museum of Asian Art in Paris, who came to her first performance and was struck by the beauty and grace of a young woman.
Mata Hari performed in exotic decor, imitating the decoration of an Indian temple, under the light of numerous candles. At that time, her costume was shocking - her chest was barely covered with precious stones, a piece of translucent fabric falls from the inlaid belt, bracelets lavishly adorn her wrists and calves, and a crown gleams in her dark hair. How she danced was no longer important with such outfits. Even when one of the journalists tried to criticize her far from impeccable technique, he was still forced to mention her scandalous stage costume, and the curious audience poured in on the performance. Mata Hari became famous. She danced in private salons and on the big stage. Her number was included in the ballet and opera program. She was invited to tour and traveled a lot. Among the dancer's many admirers, who provide her with financial support in exchange for the time spent in her company, there are many officers from different countries.
During the First World War, it was this lifestyle that played a bad joke with Maragaret MacLeod. Travels a lot? Is she seen in the society of high-ranking military officials? Who is she - a spy? In February 1917, French authorities arrested Mata Hari on espionage charges and imprisoned Saint-Lazare in Paris. At a closed military court in July, she was accused of transferring information about new weapons (tanks) to the enemy and, as a result, the death of thousands of soldiers. Margaret was found guilty and on October 15, 1917, was shot in the suburbs of the French capital Vincennes. So Margaret-Gertrude MacLeod died, but the legend of the beautiful spy Mata Hari continued to live even after her death. It was also said that the dancer threw off her coat in front of the firing squad and was naked, but this did not embarrass the valiant soldiers, and they still fired. That her last words were - "Courtesan - yes, spy - never!", That the youngest soldier fainted during this execution, and much more.
Modern historians are more and more inclined to the version that the only fault of this femme fatale was too much love for men in uniform and, as a result, a compromising relationship with someone from the high-ranking French army elite.
