Classified for over 100 years: who was Mata Hari really?

 

This amazing woman was admired by rich businessmen and politicians, military men and diplomats. One of her fans was the world famous composer Giacomo Puccini. She was idolized and hated, but few people could remain indifferent to her. She could have become an ordinary teacher and an exemplary mother, but fate decreed otherwise. It was only at the age of 29 that she began dancing, and a year later she was one of the most sought-after dancers in Europe. She was credited with extraordinary power and influence, and was eventually accused of espionage and sentenced to death by firing squad. To this day, historians continue to debate who she really was – a dangerous spy, a clever adventurer, or an unfortunate victim of circumstances? An unprecedented triumph

In 1905, Parisian newspapers praised the new star of the dance world, who performed under the sonorous pseudonym "Mata Hari", which in Malay meant "eye of the day" or "sun". It was said that even the image of the legendary Isadora Duncan pales in comparison with her talent. There were amazing rumors about Mata Hari. Some said that she spent her childhood in the East, and she studied dancing in Buddhist temples. Others claimed that she was the illegitimate daughter of an English king and an Indian princess. Still others claimed that she was a Javanese princess. The fourth denied this and said that she was a baroness and the widow of an influential colonel. The rising star of the dance world did not refute these tall tales. On the contrary, she multiplied these rumors. Legends created an aura of mystery around her name and filled her uncomplicated dances with deep meaning.

Why did the star of Mata Hari rise so quickly and suddenly? Obviously, she combined everything that was fashionable in European society at that time – a fascination with the Orient, modern ballet and eroticism. Mata Hari danced in exotic clothes and got naked during the dance. It was a big audacity for that time and excited the audience. And, of course, Mata Hari's personal charm played a big role. Much more talented and well-trained dancers did not have even a tenth of her success. Accusations of espionage

In February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in Paris and charged with espionage for Germany. The First World War was underway and the accusation looked more than serious. It is very difficult to investigate Mata Hari's espionage activities, since almost all the materials of her case are still classified. The trial was held behind closed doors and from the very first meeting the public was asked to leave. Only two journalists, Alain Prelu and Sam Waagenaar, managed to partially familiarize themselves with the materials of the "espionage case" of Mata Hari. They saw with their own eyes the interrogation protocols and the secret dossier.

In 1968, Sam Waagenaar published a book about Mata Hari, which is still the only more or less reliable biography of this legendary woman. For many years, Waagenaar studied the life of Mata Hari, and in the 1930s he met with people who knew her intimately. He was inclined to conclude that it was unlikely that his heroine was a spy. In any case, she did not know any secrets that could seriously harm the French armed forces and could not pass them on to German agents. Major von Repel was of the opposite opinion. A quarter of a century after Mata Hari's death, he claimed to have been her handler and recruited her in the fall of 1915. There is no documentary evidence of Repel's words, so many people are very skeptical about them. The famous dancer was also an outstanding courtesan. Her lovers included high-ranking military officers, so hypothetically she could really learn some secrets from them. From teacher to dancer

Of course, Mata Hari was not a Javanese princess and baroness. Her real name is Margareta Zelle. She was born in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden into a typical bourgeois family. Previously, her childhood was quite prosperous. My father was a successful salesman of hats and top hats, and he owned his own company store. The mother was a housewife and raised four children. When Margareta was a teenager, her father went bankrupt. He grieved over the failure of his business, began to quarrel with his wife, and soon left the family altogether. A couple of years later, the girl's mother died, and she was sent to be raised by her godfather. It's hard to believe, but Margareta has chosen pedagogy as her future profession. She was supposed to become a kindergarten teacher, and who knows what her fate would have been if it hadn't been for chance. The director of the educational institution fell in love with young Margareta and began to show her inappropriate signs of attention. The godfather hurried to pick up the girl from school and her studies ended there.

At the age of 19, Margareta married a Dutch officer, Rudolf McLeod. He was 20 years older than her, and had a rude and unbridled temper. Rudolf served almost all his life in Indonesia, which at that time was a Dutch colonial possession. He took his young wife to Java, where they tried to establish a family life. Despite the birth of two children, a boy and a girl, life together did not work out. Rudolf was short-tempered and jealous, often took a sip of the bottle and even raised his hand against his wife. Margareta was frankly bored in the Malay wilderness and persuaded her husband to return to Europe. After the tragic death of their two-year-old son, the relationship between the spouses completely broke down. They officially divorced in 1903. Rudolf was skeptical about his ex-wife's success on stage as an exotic dancer. He claimed that she actually had flat feet and couldn't dance at all. But the audience did not agree with his opinion – Mata Hari's performances were a constant success. The tragic ending

Out of the blue, on July 25, 1917, the verdict was pronounced. Mata Hari was sentenced to death for wartime espionage in favor of the enemy. She couldn't quite believe it and kept repeating: "It's impossible!" There are as many legends about Mata Hari's last days as there are about her life. Some said that she had specially ordered some extraordinarily beautiful outfit to be sewn for the day of the shooting. Others claimed that she appeared naked before her executioners. There were rumors that one of the soldiers who shot at her had either fainted or gone mad. There is also a very common legend that she demanded breakfast before her execution and that she was offered to delay the massacre by pretending to be pregnant. In fact, Mata Hari was wearing a modest gray dress when she was shot. But she really behaved with dignity and even comforted the nun who had become attached to her, who lived with her in recent days. After Mata Hari's death, she became even more popular than during her lifetime. A large number of films have been made about her, and many novels have been written. Whether she was an outstanding spy, we will be able to find out only when all the archives are declassified. I wonder what it is about them that they are a mystery more than a hundred years after the events described?