Mata Hari, the dancer turned secret agent

By Amal Hewavissenti

"On the moment of death, she protested being blindfolded. She slowly sank to her knees as volleys of gunshots hit her body. There was no noticeable change in her expression even as she was being shot. She made a pathetic effort to keep her head upright. For a few seconds, she fixed her gaze on those who were shooting her. Then she fell on the ground-dead. A few officers ascertained that she was dead..."

Such was the end of the world's most diplomatic and politics woman secret agent and dancer Mata Hari as recounted by Henry Wales, a British reporter on the scene.

Margaretta Zelle alias Mata Hari

Whatever definition world may give of her, Margaretta Zelle, popularly known as Mata Hari is the cleverest woman secret agent who maximally exploited her complex blend of dancing flair and beauty for her career.

The life story of Mata Hari who served as a secret agent for Germany has been the background for several films and novels.

She totally contrasts from other secret agents in the world history and was a well known dancer who transmitted top level military secrets to various countries and leaders.

Margaretta Zelle (Mata Hari) was of mixed parentage (Dutch and Japanese) and arrived in Burma with her mother. Her marriage with a military officer ended in divorce as she killed off a gardener who had previously poisoned her son. During her teens, her mother gave her to the guardianship of a temple in Burma and was trained in varied dancing forms there. She had narrated her child hood memories to Count Louis Hammon who was to become her close confidant later.

Charisma

"When I was 12, I practised dancing in the temple where I had to dance for religious ceremonies. I had mastered dancing by two years and had become a lady with strength and bravery. My rough, violent behaviour often threw me into conflicts with men."

"In Paris, the management of Olympic Hotel severely criticised my dancing style in a dancing test. They severely depreciated the oriental quality in my dancing. But later, I got an opportunity to move to Berlin and dance for a hotel. They deeply appreciated the eastern quality of my dancing. I love the city of Berlin..." Yet, Mata Hari was called to Germany not to work as a dancer alone but to work for the German government that practically brought her life into a horrible turning point. However, Mata Hari deserves the credit of becoming the most skilful international secret agent that Germany produced during the nineteenth century. Her potential began to sharpen prominently through her honest work for Germany during the World War I.

Mata Hari's use of her dancing capabilities, and charisma for military intelligence accounted for the deaths of fifty-thousand soldiers at the final stage of the World War I. In short, Mata Hari's single decision or disclosure of a secret could determine the fate of a country or a war-front during the first world war. Her personal charisma could possibly inspire even the most obdurate and hard hearted military chiefs and the leaders of states.

She was called by several names in different countries. She was "Madam Van Hotin" in France, "Countess Van Minjamin" when she was in Russia and "Margaretta Zelle" when she was in Burma. She studied Indonesian dancing styles within months and joined a local dance company. In 1897, she made the first public performance under the name "Mata Hari" which signifies the "Sun" in Indonesian language.

She joined a team of circus performers in Paris and even posed for paintings by French painters because she had plunged into a more of poverty by now. At the same time she was gaining increasing popularity as a dancer in Paris and soon her dancing style became immensely popular the world over. Most in France thought that Mata Hari was of Indonesian origin as she displayed Indonesian style both in dress and dancing styles.

Mata Hari's appearance, fame and intelligence immediately brought her in contact with the important and powerful people and officials in French government. As a result, she gained the opportunity to build friendships with higher military officials, politicians and other powerful leaders in many countries.

Even though she was popular as a dancer alone before the World War I, the political and military operations of the war turned her course to a dangerous direction.

She easily crossed national borders as Margaretta Zelle of Dutch origin and some powerful military officials and politicians took her across international boundaries with perfect safety. To avoid war zones successfully, she travelled to the Netherlands from France through Britain and Spain. Her frequent visits to France from Netherlands had been suspiciously observed by British forces and finally she was arrested for thorough questioning. She was subsequently released in the course of two years' imprisonment.

Mata Hari was an expert in disguising. According to Count Louis Hammon's accounts, Maha Hari visited Russia and stayed at Hotel De Europe with several attendants who had been granted luxury rooms. She appeared as a wealthy Germany woman under the false name of 'Barones von Mintjen' and attended extravagant functions where she was mostly sought after by wealthy noblemen. Interestingly, the functions were organised by herself and the invitees were the highest military officials and leaders of the machinery of Russian state.

Relations

However, she was recognised by her friend Count Louis Hammon who too had stayed in the same luxury hotel.

Two days before her death, a team of German soldiers transmitted a codified message to Berlin about their secret agent. But the French Intelligence decoded the message and discovered that "Agent H 21" was none other than Maha Hari.

Accordingly, she was arrested by French authorities and was accused of having acted as a secret agent for Germany and being responsible for the deaths of 50,000 soldiers.

Yet she vehemently claimed that her international relations were for nothing but for her dancing and other affairs related to it. In spite of all her claims to her innocence, she was ordered to be shot.

The Frize Museum of the Netherlands contains a special section labelled as Maha Hari where her personal photograph album is kept for public view.