August 7, 1876 - Kelders, Leeuwarden, Netherlands - Margaretha Geertruida Zelle is born
November 26, 1878 - Kelders, Leeuwarden - Her brother Johannes is born
September 9, 1881 - Kelders, Leeuwarden - Twin brothers Arie and Cornelius are born
August 7, 1882 - Kelders, Leeuwarden - Her father surprises her with a goat cart on her sixth birthday
January(?) 1(?), 1883 - Leeuwarden - Her father's business was doing so well that he moved his family into a better house, and hires more servants
February 18, 1889 - Leeuwarden - Adam Zelle's business and investments go wrong and he is forced to declare bankrupcy
July 15, 1889 - While in Leeuwarden - Adam Zelle leaves for The Hague to look for work
May 31, 1890 - Leeuwarden - Adam Zelle returns to his family in Leeuwarden
September 4, 1890 - Leeuwarden - Her parents divorce and she is sent to live with the Vissers, their relatives
May 9, 1891 - Leeuwarden - Her mother, Antje van der Meulen, dies, aged 49
November 1(?), 1891 - Leiden - The Vissers pack Margaretha off to a boarding school in Leiden where all the newest educational innovations were being taught to young women wanting to become kindergarten instructors
April 7, 1892 - Leiden - By this time, Margaretha was already seducing and being seduced by the 51-year-old Headmaster, Wybrandus Haanstra
February 9, 1893 - While in Leiden - Adam Zelle marries Susanna Catharina ten Hoove in Amsterdam
June(?) 1(?), 1893 - Sneek - Margaretha moves to Sneek to live with her godfather, Mr.Visser
January(?) 1(?), 1894 - The Hague - Moves to her uncle's home in The Hague - Mr.Taconis
August 14, 1894 - While in Amsterdam - An officer named (Captain) Rudolf MacLeod arrives in Amsterdam from Java
March 1(?), 1895 - Amsterdam - A friend places an ad in "The news of the Day" on MacLeod's behalf: "Officer on home leave from Dutch East Indies would like to meet a girl of pleasant character—object matrimony.". He receives 16 letters, the last one, from Margaretha =(START)
March 24, 1895 - Amsterdam - After a brief exchange of letters, Margaretha and MacLeod meet at the Rijkmuseum
March 30, 1895 - Amsterdam - They become formally engaged six days after their first meeting
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| Margaretha Zelle & Captain Rudolf MacLeod |
March 16, 1896 - Amsterdam - MacLeod's leave is extended because of his precarious health
April 23, 1896 - Amsterdam - Margaretha and MacLeod go to a reception at the Royal Palace given by the queen regent Emma
September 17, 1896 - Amsterdam - MacLeod is given another six months' extension of his leave because of Margaretha's pregnancy
January 30, 1897 - Amsterdam - Her son, Norman-John MacLeod, is born
May 1, 1897 - Den Helder, Netherlands - Departs for Malang, south of Surabaya, on the the Island ofJava, on board "S.S. Prinses Amalia"
May 2(?), 1897 - Southampton, England - Arrives in Southampton (voyage details reconstructed according with this ship's other voyages)
May 4(?), 1897 - Southampton - Leaves Southampton
May 14(?), 1897 - Naples, Italy - Arrives in Naples
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| Margaretha (on the left), first row and Captain MacLeod (second left, standing) on board the "Princes Amalia" |
May 19(?), 1897 - Suez Canal - Leaves the Suez Canal
June 4(?), 1897 - Padang, West Sumatra - Arrives in Padang
June 7, 1897 - Tanjung Priok, near Batavia - The "S.S. Prinses Amalia" arrives at Tanjung Priok, near Batavia (today Jakarta)
June 15, 1897 - Ambarawa, near Semarang, Central Java - After a week, MacLeod is posted at a military fort in Ambarawa, near Semarang, Central Java. The MacLeod family boards the "S.S. Speelman" to Semarang and then goes on horseback to Ambarawa
December 29, 1897 - Tumpang, outskirts of Malang, Central Java - After six months, MacLeod is promoted to Major and sent to Tumpang
Mar 2, 1898 - Tumpang - A daughter, Louise Jeanne "Nonnie" MacLeod, is born
September 1(?), 1898 - Tumpang - Celebrations to honor de crowning of Queen Wilhelmina at home in the Netherlands. Margaretha plays the queen in an amateur theatrical production of "The Crusaders" to great applause
December 21, 1898 - Tumpang - MacLeod is transfered as garrison commander in Medan, Sumatra
March 17, 1899 - Tumpang - MacLeod sails for Medan on the "S.S. Carpentier", while Margaretha stays behind in Tumpang
May 26, 1899 - Medan, Sumatra - Margaretha and the children join MacLeod in Medan
May 31, 1899 - Medan - The MacLeods host a farewell party for General Reisz, the former garrison commander
June 10, 1899 - Medan - Letter from MacLeod to his sister, about Margaretha: "How she makes me suffer! I am spending all my days without saying a single word to her, she has nothing to do except for her pleasure and was scandalously negligent of the poor little ones...."
June 20, 1899 - Medan - The children's health worsens. Norman begins vomiting violently
June 27, 1899 - Medan - Norman-John MacLeod dies, aged 2, probably from the treatment for congenital syphilis
June 28, 1899 - Medan - Norman's funeral
July 24, 1899 - Medan - MacLeod is abruptly transfered back to Java
July 27, 1899 - Medan - Letter to her father and stepmother: "The 28th of June my lovely little Norman has died and I am not in a state to write much about it. Concerning sorrow, the Indies doesn't spare anything. I thank God that on the 29th of December we are going to ask for a pension and come back to Holland. I cannot write anymore. The passing of my dear Norman has taken everything out of me"
September 1, 1899 - Medan - The family departs for Batavia on board the "S.S. Riebeek". From there, they are sent to Banjoe Biroe, near Semarang
December 2, 1899 - Banjoe Biroe - Letter to her father and stepmother: "More than ever I am longing for Holland. Good lord, what a lot of problems and sadness in my life. And why all this?"
March 1(?), 1900 - Banjoe Biroe (Banyubiru, S. of Semarang, Central Java) - Margaretha falls ill with typhoid fever
October 2, 1900 - Banjoe Biroe - MacLeod is honorably discharged from military service. They move to Sindanglaya, a cheaper and remote village
May 27, 1901 - Sindanglaya, outskirts of Bandung, West Java - Letter to her father, claiming that MacLeod was making her life a living hell, saying she feared for her life at his hands
June 28, 1901 - Sindanglaya - Letter from her father: "I have received your letter of 27 May—I have, being your father, taken immediate measures. To give you a certain security I have written to the Honorable Officer of Justice of Batavia who will, I trust, help you. You will have to ask for a separation subsidiair from table and bed. An attorney will have to ask this of the court and then they will care for you and avoid offenses and mistreatments and your husband will be forced to provide for you, which [amount] possibly will be withheld from his pension. You will have to have two witnesses who can attest to the mistreatment and the offenses. Please keep your courage strong; you see your father jumps in immediately to help you as no other will do. So dear Gretha, angel of my life, have courage, be wise and pious; always be careful that your life is irreproachable and then everything will go well; at the same time, be very wary and prudent; take care about everything so that no one can do wrong to you or your child. Then come as soon as possible back to your father."
July 12, 1901 - Sindanglaya - Letter to her father, complaining about Rudolf's debts and his complete control over their money, which left her nothing for herself
August 3, 1901 - Sindanglaya - Letter to her father
August 4, 1901 - Sindanglaya - Margaretha is visited by justice official from Batavia, who carried a letter from his father. MacLeod is humiliated and disgraced by the official complaint
September 3, 1901 - Sindanglaya - Letter from her father: "With great sadness I received your letter—on September 3, 1901—and I have understood that MacLeod is not a man of honor because he who hits or spits upon a woman is not worth the name of a man. Because of your letter I was at the end of my rope and being your father, I have been in touch with the Officer of Justice in Batavia again—this was 28 June but I haven’t yet had your acknowledgment that anything has happened. So if it has had no result, get a lawyer to ask for a separation. I have spoken to the sister of MacLeod and she knows of everything. Wouldn’t one predict this? The first of August was to be—with her connivance—the day that you have to die? So now you know what kind of sister that is. Get a lawyer immediately because everything is not well. You know you can count on our help. More I cannot do at this moment. Try to get yourself through it and deal with it like an intelligent and courageous woman."
March 1(?), 1902 - Sindanglaya - Letter to MacLeod's cousin, Madame Goodvriend, Née Baroness Sweerts de Landas
March 19, 1902 - Batavia - The MacLeods board the "S.S. Koningin Wilhelmina" to the Netherlands
April 10, 1902 - Genoa, Italy - The "S.S. Koningin Wilhelmina" arrives in Genoa
April 15(?), 1902 - Amsterdam - The MacLeods arrive in Amsterdam. MacLeod, in debt, becomes more violent and resumes heavy drinking
August 25, 1902 - Amsterdam - Nonnie falls seriously ill and is bedridden, which brings back frightening memories of the terrible time of Norman’s death in Medan.
August 26, 1902 - Amsterdam | Arnhem - MacLeod takes Nonnie with him to the post office and doesn’t return. By the evening, Margaretha calls the police and reports them missing. She rightly surmises, that MacLeod had left her and taken Nonnie to Velp to live with friends. She gets on a train to Arnhem, to seek refuge and advice at the home of the Goodvriends.
August 27, 1902 - Amsterdam - Margaretha files for divorce
August 30, 1902 - Amsterdam - Margaretha Zelle and Captain Rudolf MacLeod officially separate. He is obliged to give her 100 guilders a month
September 2, 1902 - Worth-Rheden, near Arnhem - Margaretha and Nonnie move to a boardinghouse in Worth-Rheden, near Arnhem
September 10, 1902 - While in Worth-Rheden - MacLeod pleads poverty to the Court and manages to get the amount reduced to 50 guilders (and even then he didn't pay)
September 12, 1902 - Worth-Rheden - Letter to her father
September 13, 1902 - While in Worth-Rheden - MacLeod and Margaretha's father meet and discuss sorting things out
November 1, 1902 - Worth-Rheden - Letter to MacLeod: "What a surprise this afternoon [to receive the money]...it is so kind of you; I am happy and almost confused. Tuesday we return [to our life together]. I am very very happy and you know, I will thank you well.”
November 5(?), 1902 - Amsterdam - Returns to Amsterdam to live with MacLeod and Nonnie in a small apartment
October(?) 1(?), 1903 - Amsterdam - Margaretha and MacLeod's reunion is short-lived and unhappy. They agree that he would keep Nonnie with him and she would never see her daughter again. In desperation she agrees
November 1(?), 1903 - Paris, France - Margaretha moves to Paris, to try to earn money as a model for painters Octave Guillaumet and Gustave Assire
November 15(?), 1903 - Paris - Painter Fernand Cormon offers to hire her for 300 francs a month, which she turns down, as it was assumed that the job required more than being a model: "If you throw off your bourgeois conventions, you could earn money, as much as you want" (Cormon)
December 1(?), 1903 - Paris - The director of the "Théâtre de Gaîté" invites Margaretha to audition as a dancer in the opera "Messaline" by Isidore de Lara. Once again she declines it as is was evident that the director had ulterior motives. She also tries singing, but realizes that her body and not her voice was the real commodity for sale, in a city like Paris, where appearance was everything.
December 15, 1903 - Paris - Letter from Paris
January 1(?), 1904 - Nijmegen - After sometime in Paris with little work, Margaretha begs for help to MacLeod's cousin, General Edward MacLeod in Nijmegen. Defeated and beaten, she goes to stay with the General and his wife
January 15(?), 1904 - Nijmegen - Letter: "Behold me, then, condemned to remain here [in Nijmegen], here where there exists only the shadow of a gray and humid hearth in which only the copper pots have the right to shine in the pale sunlight. Where there exists the silent, the grave, the hostile street, in which an alien footstep calls the anxious housewives to windows shrouded in lace curtains. Here, where a little tulip garden shudders in the winter winds. Here where the fog, the soft fog, veils everything and blankets to a silvery chime to strokes of the municipal carillon. Here there is the incessant overseeing of beldames [mothers-in-law] and matrons who have vaguely heard reports of a flight to Paris and dances in theaters. Here, in fact, is shame and nostalgia."
March 28, 1904 - Nijmegen(?) - Letter to Edward, in which Margaretha says that she was contemplating suicide after missing "her child, her house, her confort". She had secured a part in a play with a theatre company, but confessed to sleep with men for money. "Don't think that I'm bad at heart...I have done it only out of poverty".
April(?) 1(?), 1904 - Paris - Returns to Paris in the Spring, where the aristocrat Ernest Molier hires her for her excellent equestrian skills at his circus and riding school
October(?) 1(?), 1904 - Paris - Molier suggests that Margaretha might be more successful as a dancer, and with the encouragement of Henri Jean-Baptiste Joseph de Marguerie, a French diplomat she met in The Hague, she is introduced to salon hostesses
February 1(?), 1905 - Paris - With her knowledge of oriental dance, she becomes, an exotic dancer, creating a totally surprising and original new persona - Lady MacLeod - fusing sensuality and sacred worship with the unknown exoticism of the East Indies. The result is hypnotic and seductive. Her first performances are private, starting at the home of the singer Madame Kiréevsky, a society hostess who favored new artists.
February 4, 1905 - Paris - Francis Keyzer, a correspondent from London for the society magazine "The King" is invited to the exclusive performance at Madame Kiréevsky's and writes an article about what he saw: "Vague rumors had reached me of a woman from the Far East, a native of Java, wife of an of icer, who had come to Europe, laden with perfumes and jewels, to introduce some of the richness of the Oriental color and life into the satiated society of European cities; of veils encircling and discarded, of the development of passion as the fruits of the soil, of a burst of fresh, free life, of Nature in all its strength untrammeled by civilization.... The door opened. A tall dark figure glided in. Her arms were folded upon her breast beneath a mass of flowers. For a few seconds she stood motionless, her eyes fixed upon a statue of Siva at the end of the room. Her olive skin blended with the curious jewels in the dead gold setting. A casque of worked gold upon her dark hair—an authentic Eastern head-dress; a breastplate of similar workmanship beneath the arms. Above a transparent white robe, a quaint clasp held a scarf around the hips, the ends falling to the feet in front. She was enshrouded in various veils of delicate hues, symbolizing beauty, youth, love, chastity, voluptuousness and passion. The first notes of a plaintive weird melody were sounded and with slow, undulating, tiger-like movements she advanced towards the God. It was an appeal to the spirit of evil, an invocation to help her avenge a wrong. Her eyes shone with the fire of revenge when she began, but after a while a softer light crept into them as she strove to win the favor of the Deity. Then the movements became more and more intense, more feverish, more eager. She first threw flowers and then divested herself, one by one, of the veils, implying that, as a sacrifice, she gave beauty, youth, love, etc.; and finally worked to a state of frenzy, unclasped her belt and fell in a swoon at Siva’s feet."....."Lady MacLeod is Venus."
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| Mata Hari's debut, 1905 |
March 14, 1905 - Paris - Second performance at the Musée Guimet. Émile Guimet suggests that she should adopt a stage name that was suitably enigmatic and evocative: Mata Hari was born, meaning "eye of dawn" in Malay.
March 15, 1905 - Paris - On Madame Kiréevsky's initiative, she dances for the benefit of the Russian Red Cross, with French and Russian aristocracy in attendance, all of whom are seduced.
April 19, 1905 - While in Paris - Because of the stories about her origins in the Dutch East Indies, curiosity about her increases in Holland: "Might she be dutch?"...."Who can Mata Hari be?" (Het nieuws van den dag Newspaper)
May 14, 1905 - Paris - Letter from Cecile Sorel: "Mademoiselle, your beautiful dances deeply impressed my guests. Monsieur Meunier expressed a desire to admire you more time at his home on Friday. Is it possible? There you will act in a setting worthy of your great art: a large covered veranda, full of rare plants and flowers. Please mail your answer to Monsieur Meunier, or, if you prefer, to me. Sincerely, C. Sorel"
May 19, 1905 - Paris - Performance at the house of Gaston Menier, the "king of chocolate". Menier, also a photographer, immortalizes the moment
May 31, 1905 - While in Paris - New Rotterdam Daily: "Mata Hari! Strange, well-modulated name, which suddenly resounded throughout Paris, through the smart and political Paris—a name that floats on the lips of the common man like something secret, unbelievable, far out of reach. Priestess, dancer, lady? People ask—and guess. It is said that four ministers of State invited her to supper and that in the intimacy of their dining room she regaled them with her art."
June 14, 1905 - Paris - Performance at the Musée Guimet
August 18, 1905 - Paris - Agent Gabriel Astruc books her into the Olympia Theater for a performance of "Le Rêve", with music by George Bing
October 1(?), 1905 - Paris - Mata Hari is on the cover of the magazine "Monsieur et Madame", wearing her famous headdress
October 8, 1905 - Paris - Letter to her father: "You ask me, Dad, if I want to know what is happening in Holland. No, Dad, I don’t want to know anything. It would hurt me and make me sad. I have overcome everything. At the moment I have my own carriage and within a month I go to Russia where I can enjoy myself. I am still very beautiful, healthy, and full of life. I don’t fall in love with anyone and I like this kind of life. Never ever will I go back to the brute MacLeod — and I don’t have to depend on the hospitality of his family [any longer]. I thank God that I took the train to Paris. Now I am compensating for all the abuse I suffered from MacLeod and I am happy. I know MacLeod and his sister live in Velp; that [Non] of course has no clothes and will be polluted by a woman like [Tante Frida], who doesn’t ever clean herself, but my dear God, I cannot do anything about it! I know that nobody gave me anything when I was poor and I know that everybody is wonderful when I have money."
October 13, 1905 - Paris - Dances at the Olympia
November 1, 1905 - Paris - Astruc arranges for Mata Hari to sign a contract to dance in the opera "Le Roi de Lahore"
January 8, 1906 - Madrid, Spain - Arrives in Madrid by train. Begins a romantic relationship with Jules Cambon, French Ambassador
January 13, 1906 - Madrid - An article about Mata Hari's performance is published in the "Blanco y Negro" magazine with photos taken in Kâulak Gallery
February 17, 1906 - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Dances at the opera "Le Roi de Lahore", with Giacomo Puccini in the audience
April 26, 1906 - While in Paris - Mata Hari and Rudolf MacLeod's divorce is granted in Nijmegen. MacLeod is awarded custody of Nonnie
June(?) 1(?), 1906 - Berlin, Germany - Stays in Berlin and becomes the lover of Lieutenant Alfred Kiepert
August 29, 1906 - Berlin - Informs Astruc that she was hired from London to a pantomine job
September 9, 1906 - Streigau, Silesia (Strzegom, Poland) - Attends the maneuvers of the German Imperial Army (until September 12th)
December 1(?), 1906 - Vienna, Austria - Arrives in Vienna, Austria
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| Mata Hari, 1906 |
December 28, 1906 - Vienna - Maud Allan dances the "Vision of Salome" at the Carl Theatre in Vienna. On the same night, unknown to each of them, three most famous dancers in Europe - Mata Hari, Maud Allan and Isadora Duncan were staying at Vienna in different hotels
January 10, 1907 - Vienna - Letter to Lieutenant Oscar Tofer
January 16, 1907 - Vienna - Last performance at the Apollo Theater in Vienna
March(?) 10(?), 1907 - Marseille, France - Boards the steamer "S.S. Schleswig" to Egypt with Alfred Kiepert
March 21, 1907 - Naples, Italy | On the way to Khartoum - Journalist René Puaux finds her on board the "SS Schleswig" sailing to Khartoum: "Saturday—Just today, on leaving Naples, did we get a chance to see the full list of passengers. But at Marseille certain Parisians on board had recognized a celebrity: Mata Hari, the famous Hindu dancer, the exponent of the sacred dances of the East. She is going to Egypt for the purpose of discovering new [dances].... She has renounced Siva and her cult. She has become Berlinoise and speaks German with an accent that is as un-Oriental as possible."
March 30, 1907 - Rome, Italy - Letters to Astruc asking to include her as a dancer in the forthcoming performance of the opera "Salomé" and another enclosed letter to Richard Strauss, in which she asks to meet the composer (however Astruc files the letter instead of delivering it to Strauss)
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| Mata Hari, 1910 |
December(?) 1(?), 1907 - Paris - Returns to Paris from Egypt and realizes she is being imitated by other dancers
December 23, 1907 - Paris - Interview to the "New York Herald", saying she was able to make a long safari in Egypt and India
May 20, 1908 - Paris - Interview with journalist Charles Doury at the Elysée Palace-Hotel
May 21, 1908 - Paris - Dances at the "Gala des Pupilles", the day after the interview
July(?) 1(?), 1908 - Paris - Begins a relationship with stockbroker Xavier Rousseau, who installs her in a hotel
August 1(?), 1908 - Houlgate, Normandy - Dances at Houlgate, Normandy
September 20, 1908 - Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames - In a speech at a charity event in Couilly-Pont-aux-Dames, Mata Hari criticizes the performances of her competitors "from the artistic-scientific and from the aesthetic point of view"
October 4, 1908 - Bois de Boulogne, Paris - Visit to the Longchamp racecourse, a place to see and be seen
February 6, 1909 - Bordeaux - Performance at the "Théâtre Fémina" in Bordeaux
January 7, 1910 - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Dances the role of Cleopatra in Maurice Ravel's opera "Antar" (after Rimsky-Korsakov) in the Theatre de Monte Carlo. Becomes lover of Lieutenant Alfred Kiepert
February(?) 1(?), 1910 - Esvres, near Tours - Rousseau rents a country chateau in Esvres, near Tours. Mata Hari settles there for almost two years. Rousseau takes the Train from Paris every Friday afternoon to spend the weekends with her
August 1(?), 1911 - Vittel, S. of Nancy - Arrives at the Vittel Sanatorium
September(?) 1(?), 1911 - Neully-sur-Seine, NW Paris - Moves with Rousseau to a mansion in Neuilly-sur-Seine
November 28, 1911 - Neuilly-sur-Seine - Letter from Neully-sur-Seine to an unnamed "gentleman"
December 1(?), 1911 - Milan, Italy - Two-month engagement at La Scala in Milan, dancing "The Princess and the Magic Flower" in Gluck's opera "Armide"
December 24, 1911 - Milan - Writes to her agent, Astruc, suggesting that her new and strange dances might fit nicely into Diaghilev's Ballets Russes performances
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| Mata Hari, La Scala |
February 1(?), 1912 - Paris - Returns to Paris. Letter to Astruc: "I wonder whether you know anyone who would be interested in the protection of artists, like a capitalist who would like to make an investment? I find myself in rather difficult circumstances and need immediately about 30,000 francs to pull me out of this unpleasant situation, and to give me the tranquillity of mind which is so necessary to my art. It would really be a pity to cut such a future short. As a guarantee for this loan I offer everything I have in my home, including horses and carriages."
May 3, 1912 - Bois de Boulogne, Paris - Horseriding at the Bois de Boulogne
June 1(?), 1912 - Auteuil, N. of Paris - Horseriding in Auteuil
September 7, 1912 - Paris - Signed photo from Paris
December 14, 1912 - Paris - Mata Hari and Inayat Khan perform before an audience at the Université des Annales in Paris
April 18, 1913 - Paris - Dances for one month in performances of Jacques Rishpena's operetta "Minaret"
June 28, 1913 - Paris - Performance in "la revue en chemise" at the Folies Bergère, dressed in spanish costume
September 1(?), 1913 - Palermo, Sicily - Performs at the Trianon Palace Theatre in Palermo during two weeks
September 15, 1913 - Palermo - Leaves Palermo
February 25(?), 1914 - Berlin - Travels to Berlin to research the german museums for a new dance, based on ancient Egyptian culture. A member of the german intelligence service offers her a job
May 23, 1914 - Berlin - Signs a contract to dance for six months at the Metropol in Berlin, starting in September 1st, with a salary of 48,000 marks
July 25(?), 1914 - Berlin - While dining with one of her lovers, Chief of Police Griebel: "We heard the noise of a great disturbance. This demonstration was certainly spontaneous and Griebel, who had not any warning of it, took me in his car to the place where it was held. I saw an enormous mob that was giving way to a frenetic demonstration in front of the Emperor’s palace and shouting, “Deutschland über Alles!” [Germany over all!] Several days later war was declared. At that time, the police were treating foreigners like animals. Several times, I was stopped in the street and transported to the station, because they were absolutely convinced I was Russian."
August 6, 1914 - German-Swiss border - Departs Germany two days after World War 1 breaks out. With hardly any money, she boards a train for Switzerland but the German guards don't let her past the border without a passport certifying her neutral Dutch citizenship, especially as she made the mistake of telling them she was headed for France, Germany’s enemy in the war.
August 7, 1914 - Berlin - Forced to return to Berlin without her extensive luggage and deprived of both money and a change of clothes
August 17, 1914 - Berlin - Departs for Amsterdam using her charms to get the ticket
September 1(?), 1914 - The Hague - Returns to the Netherlands
December 1, 1914 - The Hague - Karl Kroemer - Honorary german consul in Amsterdam and intermediary of the secret service, hires Mata Hari. She accepts 30,000 marks to bring back information from France
December 14, 1914 - The Hague - Performance of "Lucie de Lammermoor" at the Municipal Grand Theater in The Hague
August 11, 1915 - The Hague - After extensive and expensive renovations and redecoration, Mata Hari moves to a rented house in The Hague
November 1(?), 1915 - The Hague - Kroemer offers Mata Hari another 20,000 francs to bring back information from Paris. She accepts, becoming "agent H21"
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| Mata Hari, Amsterdam 1915 |
December 3, 1915 - Paris - Returns to Paris and resumes her love affair with Henri de Marguérie, the second secretary to the French legation in The Hague
December 4, 1915 - Folkestone, England - Forced to disembark at Folkestone to be interrogated by the MI5: "I beg to report that Madame Marguerite Gertrude Zelle, age 39, a Dancer and a Dutch subject, arrived here by the Dieppe boat-train at 11.15 am yesterday.”
December 30(?), 1915 - Paris - Returns to Paris
February 3, 1916 - While in The Hague - A report is filed by a British intelligence agent working in the Netherlands, containing information about Mata Hari. There were rumors that she was in financial difficulty and that she had received “15,000 francs from the German Embassy via a certain Hans Sagace (?)” (A name that can't be traced). The report also remarked that it was suspicious that she received letters under the name of MacLeo [sic] and that she appeared to have two addresses in The Hague (one being where Colonel van der Capellan and his wife lived).“One suspects her of having gone to France on an important mission that will profit the Germans.”
February 22, 1916 - While in The Hague - A circular is sent by the British secret service to the French saying simply that if Mata Hari enters Great Britain, she is going to be arrested and sent to Scotland Yard.
April 1(?), 1916 - While in The Hague - Colonel Nicolai, head of the German intelligence, considers Mata Hari a "mediocre agent" whose training must be "resumed if something is to be gained from it"
May 1(?), 1916 - Frankfurt, Germany - Special training in Frankfurt
June 4(?), 1916 - Amsterdam - Departs Amsterdam on board the "SS Zeelandia"
June 8(?), 1916 - Vigo, Spain - SS Zeelandia arrives at Vigo
June 10(?), 1916 - Madrid - Returns to Madrid
June 13(?), 1916 - Hendaye, Spanish-French border - Mata Hari is searched and interrogated and told to travel back to San Sebastian, however, she writes a letter to her old lover Jules Cambon - Secretary General of the Immigration Ministry, and on the next day, with his letter in hand, the guards opened the border for her
June 16, 1916 - Paris - Arrives in Paris with a fee of 15,000 francs. She starts being followed everywhere by the police and military counter-espionage
July 11, 1916 - Paris - She reserves a room next door to hers for her lover Fernand, the Marquis de Beaufort at the Grand Hotel
July 19, 1916 - Paris - The Marquis de Beaufort leaves Paris. Mata Hari has dinner with Bernard Antoine, a purveyor of fine liquors
July 21, 1916 - Paris - Begins meeting with Second Lieutenant Jean Hallaure, a man who had met her years before
July 29, 1916 - Paris - Meets Captain Vladimir "Vadim" Massloff, an officer of the 1st Russian Special Regiment, 20 years younger than her
July 31, 1916 - Paris - She is refused a pass to go to on August 7 to Calais and Vittel for treatment, because both cities were on the war zone
August 1, 1916 - Paris - Returns to the prefecture of police to pick up the copy of her registration paper. After a conversation with Hallaure, the officer sends Mata Hari to Boulevard Saint-Germain, where she meets Captain Georges Ladoux, head of the french intelligence
August 4, 1916 - Paris - Accompanies "Vadim" to the train station, where he boards the train back to the front
August 20, 1916 - Paris - Letter with picture to "Monsieur Petitpied"
August 28, 1916 - Paris - Obtains her permit to stay in the army zone
September 1, 1916 - Vittel, S. of Nancy - Arrives in Vitel by train. Goes to the Grand Hôtel des Bains
September 3, 1916 - Vittel - "Vadim" arrives injured at the Grand Hotel with a bandage covering his left eye
September 7, 1916 - Vittel - "Vadim" leaves Vittel
September 17, 1916 - Paris - Returns to Paris. Meeting with Captain Georges Ladoux. She accepts to work for him in Germany or in occupied Belgium: "I will attend the German staff in Belgium. I don't intend to hang around there for several months in small businesses. I'll do one big job, one big one, and then I'll leave. I'm asking for a million"
October 17, 1916 - Paris - Sends a telegram to Ladoux from the premises of the Central Intelligence Section. Begins seeing more men, doubtless to make money
October 23, 1916 - Paris - Vadim comes on a brief leave to Paris
October 26, 1916 - Paris - Vadim leaves Paris
October 31, 1916 - Paris - Meeting with Ladoux (who was intercepting her letters to Vadim)
November 5, 1916 - Madrid, Spain - Takes a train to Madrid and meets german military attaché, Major Arnold Kalle, who gives her another 3,500 pesetas
November 9, 1916 - Vigo, Spain - Boards the steamer "S.S. Hollandia" bound for the Netherlands
November 14, 1916 - Falmouth, England - While travelling from Spain to the Netherlands, "S.S. Hollandia" calls at the British port of Falmouth. There, Mata Hari is arrested and taken to London where she is interrogated at length by Sir Basil Thomson, assistant commissioner at New Scotland Yard in charge of counter-espionage
November 15, 1916 - London - After being taken to London, she writes to the dutch legation: "May I beg Your Excellency politely and urgently to do everything possible to help me. A terrible accident has happened to me. I am the divorced Mrs. Mac-Leod [sic], born Zelle. I am traveling from Spain to Holland with my very own passport. The English police claim that it is false, that I am not Mrs. Zelle. I am at my wits’ end; am imprisoned here since this morning at Scotland-Yard and I pray you, come and help me. I live in The Hague at 16 Nieuwe Uitleg, and am well known there as well as in Paris, where I have lived for years. I am all alone here and I swear that everything is absolutely in order. It is a misunderstanding, but I pray you, help me"
November 16, 1916 - London - Telegram from Ladoux to the british Intelligence saying that "He has suspected her for some time and pretended to employ her, in order, if possible, to obtain definitive proof that she is working for the Germans. He would be glad to hear that her guilt has been clearly established."
November 20, 1916 - London - She is released but not allowed to go to The Hague (where she wanted to marry Vadim)
November 21, 1916 - Liverpool - Leaves Liverpool by ship, bound to Spain
December(?) 1(?), 1916 - Vigo, Spain - Returns to Vigo
December 8, 1916 - Madrid - Returns to Madrid
December 11, 1916 - Madrid - Confides to Colonel Denvignes - french military attaché in Madrid - that she works for the french intelligence and tells him about her visit to Kalle
December 13, 1916 - While in Madrid - The German attaché sends two telegrams to Berlin without knowing that the French had deciphered the German code......And as he gives an account of his dealings with"agent H21" and asks for instructions, Ladoux was reading everything
December 23, 1916 - While in Madrid - A third telegram from Kalle is intercepted by the french
December 26, 1916 - While in Madrid - Kalle telegraphs again to Berlin to give an account of the payment of a sum to "agent H21". In anticipation of Mata Hari's move to Paris, he commits a further indiscretion which further identifies the agent
December 28, 1916 - Madrid - Two days later, Mata Hari asks Kalle to have 5,000 francs sent to the Comptoir d'escompte in Paris. Once again, the attaché immediately reports this to Berlin and specifies that the arrival of "agent H21" in France is imminent. Again, the communication is captured by the french
January 2, 1917 - Madrid - Mata Hari leaves Madrid
January 4, 1917 - Paris - Returns to Paris
January 7, 1917 - Paris - Manages to be received by Ladoux, who doubts the value of her informations and refuses to pay her
January 16, 1917 - Paris - Has 5,000 francs sent from Holland through her servant
February 3, 1917 - Paris - Massloff meets her at the hotel and tells her that the russian intelligence had contacted his colonel to stop seeing her
February 10, 1917 - Paris - A letter from Lyautey, Minister of War, designates Mata Hari to the governor of Paris as a spy
February 13, 1917 - Paris - Mata Hari is arrested in her room at the Hotel Elysée Palace on the Champs Elysées
March 1, 1917 - Paris - Letter from her lover, spanish Senator Emilio Junoy, warning her that he had been visited by a french secret agent who had questioned him about his relations with her
March 6, 1917 - While in Paris - A telegram from Berlin to Madrid, further reiforces the idea of Mata Hari's guilt among the french
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| Face of exhaustion and resignation Photographed before execution |
May 13, 1917 - Paris - Taken to Ladoux
May 21, 1917 - Paris - Mata Hari confesses to Ladoux, while lying on a number of compromising points
May 22, 1917 - Paris - Ladoux claims not to have hired her, declaring before Bouchardon: "An agent is hired when he has received a mission, a serial number, means of communication and money. An agent can only be given an assignment when he is sure of it. MacLeod was very suspicious of me"
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| Mata Hari refuses to be blindfolded |
July 24, 1917 - Paris - Mata Hari is put on trial, accused of spying for Germany, and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers
October 15, 1917 - Vincennes - Mata Hari is executed by firing squad, aged 41 =(END)
