Matahari is one word I have been hearing for some time now, and I have just recently decided to research on it. Matahari, which means 'eye of the rising sun' in Hindu, is the stage name of the famous
belly dancer and prostitute. Because of her incarceration as a spy she was tried and found guilty by the French. This lead to her death by firing squad on October 15, 1917. Matahari's name has since been associated with espionage.
Born on August 7, 1876 in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands (although she claims she is from India) her real name is Gertrud Margarete Zelle. She was born from an affluent family. She was married to John Rudolf Mac Leod. She then became an exotic dancer in a Parisian club by the early 1900's. Eventually she became a prostitute and a plaything for military officials of France and Germany during the
First World War. For this reason, she became a spy for both the German and French camp. When the French found out about it, she was arrested and tried. She was killed in front of a firing squad. Although it seems pretty vague why the French military accused her as a spy, some people believed that Matahari was innocent and that she was merely a scapegoat.
