Mata Hari (Margaretha G. Zelle) Identity Papers

A recent TV documentation about this extraordinary woman inspired me to write this article.

Mata Hari, real name Margaretha Geertuida Zelle, was born in 1876 in Leeuwarden, Holland. At 19, she married a Dutch naval officer, Captain Mc Leod, and followed him to the Island of Java, where he was posted.

On her return and after her divorce, she moved to Paris in 1903. There, she staged herself in shows combining oriental dance and stripping, under the pseudonym of Mata Hari (Eyes of the dawn in Malay). Her success allows her to perform throughout Europe, enrich herself, and meet many artists, bankers, and officers of all nationalities.

When the war came and faced with the cancellation of several contracts, Mata Hari did not hesitate to take risks to maintain her lifestyle. Cosmopolitan and multilingual, it interests the German and French secret services, with which she engages impulsively without recognizing the danger. Mata Hari margaretha 

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