In February of 1917, Mata Hari, an exotic dancer and self-confessed harlot, was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysées in Paris. The charge?  Spying for the Germans. She was put on trial for – allegedly – passing along critical information on the French army which – allegedly – caused the death of 50,000 soldiers. The proof?  Invisible ink found in her hotel room. The truth?  Mata Hari, who went by the name Zelle and claimed to be a Japanese princess, was actually from the Dutch East Indies. Yes, she had taken money from the Germans but had only passed along worthless information. The ink?  Part of her makeup. Nevertheless, on October 15, 1917, she was executed by firing squad. According to a witness, she declined a blindfold and blew a kiss to her executioners.  To this day it is believed that the execution of Mata Hari as a German agent was a tit-for-tat for the German execution of Edith Cavell on October 12, 1915.

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