MI5 to Release Files on Mata Hari and Other WWI Spies

4/15/2014

As we approach the Centennial of World War I, news outlets and organizations around the world are discussing the events and tragedies of the Great War more than ever. Tanks and planes are being restored, diaries that haven't been read in a hundred years are resurfacing, and files that were once stamped "TOP SECRET" are being dusted off and brought into public view.

A few days ago, the UK National Archives announced the release of documents related to spies of the Great War. Some of the MI5 files will hopefully shed some light on the espionage mysteries of Edith Cavell and "H-21" herself, Mata Hari. France, the nation that tried and executed Mata Hari in 1917, will hopefully release similar documents at some point during the Centennial. Maybe we'll learn of Hari's secret rendezvous with a young Belgian Officer.