Mata Hari facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Mata Hari 6
Mata Hari, dancer and convicted spy, made her name synonymous with femme fatale during World War I.

Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida (Grietje) Zelle (7 August 1876, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands – 15 October 1917, Vincennes, France).

She was a Dutch-Frisian dancer and spy. Her dossier (file) was released in 2017, a hundred years after her death.

Guilty

German documents unsealed in the 1970s proved that Mata Hari was truly a German agent. In the autumn of 1915, she entered German service.

On the orders of section III B-Chief Walter Nicolai, she was instructed about her duties by Major Roepell during a stay in Cologne. Her direct handler was Captain Hoffmann, who gave her the code name H-21.

Images for kids

  • Mata-Hari 1910

    In 1910 wearing head jewellery

  • Mata Hari, by Jacob Merkelbach

    In Amsterdam, 1915

  • Mata Hari on the day of her arrest 13-2-1917

    At her arrest

  • Plakboek mata hari

    Scrapbook of Mata Hari in the Frisian Museum in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands

  • Mata Hari

    Statue of Mata Hari in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands


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