Mata Hari was innocent
The week's news at a glance.
Paris
The Dutch striptease artist known as Mata Hari never spied for the Germans in World War I, said the great-grandson of the French judge who sent her to the firing squad. Historian Philippe Collas has written a book based on his great-grandfather’s papers, and he said the evidence showed that while Margareth Gertrude Zelle, better known by her stage name, was recruited by the Germans to seduce French army officers, she never revealed any French military secrets. In fact, she eventually spied successfully for the French. The French turned on her, though, because they needed a scapegoat for their poor progress in the war. Collas said his great-grandfather was eager to sacrifice Mata Hari because his own wife had cheated on him and he didn’t trust women.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Liz Truss to save the West: is a political comeback really on the cards?
Talking Point The former prime minister is back with a new tell-all memoir
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Fallout: one of the 'most faithful – and best – video game adaptations'
The Week Recommends This 'genre-bending' new Amazon series is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where survivors shelter below ground
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Test of faith for Trump Media's investors'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published