Historical Hooker - Mata Hari
This here is a woman that I newly discovered, and yet what I’ve learned about her life is very fascinating and sad.
A Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who although possibly innocent, was executed by firing squad in France for espionage for Germany during World War I. She lived the life that most exotic artists lived during her day, carefree. And just like my darling Josephine Baker, Paris LOVED her for her carefree nature and her willingness to share her body with her fans and lovers.
This carefree promiscuity made her famous and wealthy throughout France. Her notoriety was parallel to famous dancers such as Isadora Duncan which made her part of the Modern Dance Movement in Europe and an overnight sensation. She briefly studied Indonesian culture and dance before becoming famous, and while in Paris she fabricated her origins to make her seem more exotic and ethnic. Although the claims about her origins were fictitious, the act was spectacularly successful because it elevated exotic dance to a more respectable status. Dance critics however felt that she lacked artistic merit and that her success was due to Europe’s love of cheap exhibitionism and carefree sex.
She later became a successful courtesan, and was known more for her sensuality and eroticism rather than for striking classical beauty. She had relationships with high-ranking military officers, politicians, and others in influential positions in many countries, including Frederick William Victor Augustus Ernest, the German crown prince, who paid for her luxurious lifestyle.
Her relationships and liaisons with powerful men frequently took her across international borders. Prior to World War I, she was generally viewed as an artist and a free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as a dangerous seductress.
On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested and put on trial, accused of spying for Germany and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. She was found guilty and was executed by firing squad on 15 October 1917, at the age of 41.
I must admit that I find the details of her (12 men) execution disturbing yet fascinating. According to an eyewitness account by British reporter Henry Wales:
“Simultaneously the sound of the volley rang out. Flame and a tiny puff of grayish smoke issued from the muzzle of each rifle. Automatically the men dropped their arms.
At the report Mata Hari fell. She did not die as actors and moving picture stars would have us believe that people die when they are shot. She did not throw up her hands nor did she plunge straight forward or straight back.
Instead she seemed to collapse. Slowly, inertly, she settled to her knees, her head up always, and without the slightest change of expression on her face. For the fraction of a second it seemed she tottered there, on her knees, gazing directly at those who had taken her life. Then she fell backward, bending at the waist, with her legs doubled up beneath her. She lay prone, motionless, with her face turned towards the sky.
A non-commissioned officer, who accompanied a lieutenant, drew his revolver from the big, black holster strapped about his waist. Bending over, he placed the muzzle of the revolver almost - but not quite - against the left temple of the spy. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet tore into the brain of the woman.
Mata Hari was surely dead."
God, that’s horrible!!
A Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who although possibly innocent, was executed by firing squad in France for espionage for Germany during World War I. She lived the life that most exotic artists lived during her day, carefree. And just like my darling Josephine Baker, Paris LOVED her for her carefree nature and her willingness to share her body with her fans and lovers.
This carefree promiscuity made her famous and wealthy throughout France. Her notoriety was parallel to famous dancers such as Isadora Duncan which made her part of the Modern Dance Movement in Europe and an overnight sensation. She briefly studied Indonesian culture and dance before becoming famous, and while in Paris she fabricated her origins to make her seem more exotic and ethnic. Although the claims about her origins were fictitious, the act was spectacularly successful because it elevated exotic dance to a more respectable status. Dance critics however felt that she lacked artistic merit and that her success was due to Europe’s love of cheap exhibitionism and carefree sex.
She later became a successful courtesan, and was known more for her sensuality and eroticism rather than for striking classical beauty. She had relationships with high-ranking military officers, politicians, and others in influential positions in many countries, including Frederick William Victor Augustus Ernest, the German crown prince, who paid for her luxurious lifestyle.
Her relationships and liaisons with powerful men frequently took her across international borders. Prior to World War I, she was generally viewed as an artist and a free-spirited bohemian, but as war approached, she began to be seen by some as a dangerous seductress.
On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested and put on trial, accused of spying for Germany and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. She was found guilty and was executed by firing squad on 15 October 1917, at the age of 41.
I must admit that I find the details of her (12 men) execution disturbing yet fascinating. According to an eyewitness account by British reporter Henry Wales:
“Simultaneously the sound of the volley rang out. Flame and a tiny puff of grayish smoke issued from the muzzle of each rifle. Automatically the men dropped their arms.
At the report Mata Hari fell. She did not die as actors and moving picture stars would have us believe that people die when they are shot. She did not throw up her hands nor did she plunge straight forward or straight back.
Instead she seemed to collapse. Slowly, inertly, she settled to her knees, her head up always, and without the slightest change of expression on her face. For the fraction of a second it seemed she tottered there, on her knees, gazing directly at those who had taken her life. Then she fell backward, bending at the waist, with her legs doubled up beneath her. She lay prone, motionless, with her face turned towards the sky.
A non-commissioned officer, who accompanied a lieutenant, drew his revolver from the big, black holster strapped about his waist. Bending over, he placed the muzzle of the revolver almost - but not quite - against the left temple of the spy. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet tore into the brain of the woman.
Mata Hari was surely dead."
God, that’s horrible!!
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