Mata Hari

I've heard the name "Mata Hari" plenty of times, but never knew who or what it was. During our adventures in Amsterdam Land, we toured the Damrak Sex Museum where they had many of Mata Hari's clothing items and accessories on display. It intrigued me to find out more about Mata Hari.

Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer and Courtesan (Upper class prostitute) during the early 20th Century. She was executed for espionage during World War I. She lived a mysterious life in Indonesia, Paris and of course Amsterdam. Because Mata was a Dutch (neutral) citizen during this time, she had free range to go wherever she pleased. She was a Courtesan to numerous high ranking military officers during WWI. On 13 February 1917, Mata Hari was arrested in her hotel room in Paris. She was 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. To this day, it is still a mystery as to whether or not Mata Hari was truly guilty. She was deemed the name, "Femme Fatal"