Mata Hari

   Mata Hari, a Dutch subject, was born Gertrud Margareta Zelle (1876-1917). She was educated in a convent and married a Dutch officer, a cruel, drunken roue, whom she later divorced. In 1903 she went to Paris to become a professional Hindu dancer. She had accompanied her husband when he was stationed in Java and learned some of the temple dances. She was immediately successful, using her Hindu persona "Mata Hari." Her repertoire consisted of erotic dances, including her famous "Dance of the Seven Veils."

   The Germans, in the year before World War I, realized her worth in espionage and therefore sent her to a school to be trained as a spy. She was "H21" in their service. The French knew of her activities, but were loath to arrest her because the names of her French lovers would be disclosed and a scandal would ensue. But in February 1917, the French made their move and arrested her. The prosecutor at her trial claimed th her spying had caused the death of at least 50,000 Frenchmen. Mata Ha i was convicted and sentenced to be executed. Last-minute efforts by some of her French lovers to forestall the execution failed. On October 15, 1917, at Vincennes, she was executed by a firing squad. Mata Hari's name has been a synonym for the shadowy, dangerous femme fatale.