Mata Hari, The Femme Fatale Extraordinaire

Greta Garbo plays Mata Hari – image via Kndynt2099

We’ve all heard of James Bond, but there are some real-life spies whose lives have been just as dangerous and exciting. Espionage is not just for the boys either – one of the most famous spies ever to have lived is none other than exotic dancer Mata Hari, or Margaretha Geertruida Zelle as she was really called.

Not so Humble Beginnings

Hari was born in the summer of 1876, the first child to a successful retailer and investor who lavished her with generous gifts and an upper-class education until she turned 13, when he went bankrupt and Hari moved in with her godfather and then her uncle.

Her marriage is the stuff of history books, something that could never happen in today’s society – some years later and wanting some of her old, luxurious lifestyle back, she spotted an ad in a newspaper by a Dutch army captain who was ‘recruiting’ a wife!

They married in Amsterdam and went on to have two children, and as the new daughter-in-law of a baroness Hari found herself thrown back into the upper classes she had been born into.

Of course, as any modern girl could tell her, finding a husband in a newspaper is not the best of ideas. The captain turned out to be a violent alcoholic, twenty years her senior, and she eventually left him. Their son died from syphilis at a young age and their daughter later died too, aged just 21. Hari was alone in the world once more.

A New Life Performing

Utterly penniless, she found her way to Paris where she scraped a living as a circus performer and artist’s muse. It wasn’t long however before her seductive charm, stunning looks and breathtaking talent for dance was noticed. She became an instant success as an exotic dancer, as well as the mistress to a millionaire – this girl did not stay poor for long!

This was where she got her first taste for ‘espionage’, as she pretended to be a Java princess who had grown up practising the sacred art of Indian dance she was now famous for – most Europeans at the time were not so culturally aware as we are today with our exotic holidays and travel magazines, so her fans believed her lies.

Greta Garbo as Mata Hari – image via Cea

A Poor Career Choice?

A much darker side of espionage was about to find its way into Hari’s life however. At the start of World War I she was able to travel freely over national borders thanks to her home country’s neutral stance. Before the war she had added exotic courtesan to her list of careers, often travelling with high-ranking military officials and politicians from country to country, and this didn’t stop when the war began.

Her constant cross-border travels and her important companions soon raised suspicion and she was arrested in England in 1916. The English questioned her at length and Hari eventually ‘admitted’ to working for the French and was released.

This however was a lie – soon after the French intercepted coded German messages that identified Hari as a spy for them. The messages were in a code that Germany already knew France had cracked, leading many people to believe that the Germans were deliberately trying to give her up.

Was There A Mission?

Femme fatale or not, she couldn’t charm her way out of an arrest at her Paris hotel room. On trial, neither the French nor the British had any evidence, only a nagging suspicion, that she was a German spy until they found ‘secret ink’ in her room. Hari claimed it was part of her makeup but the French decided this was proof enough to sentence the seductress to death by firing squad.

So, was Hari really a spy or just an innocent woman caught up in events she couldn’t control? True or not, her ‘espionage’ story has captivated millions and cemented her in history. From the mystery surrounding her life to the way she used her exotic charm and wits to seduce many a high ranking official and get secret information out of them, then spy or no spy, Hari really was the epitome of the femme fatale!

What do you think – was Mata Hari a spy?

Estelle Page writes for Traders Warehouse, an online CCTV warehouse that sells a range of high quality security products such as the Texecom premier door entry system.