She was executed by firing squad in France. Her story has inspired books, films, and other works. It has been said that she was convicted and condemned because the French Army needed a scapegoat , [ 2 ] [ 3 ] and that the files used to secure her conviction contained falsifications.
Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born 7 August in Leeuwarden, Netherlands to Antje van der Meulen β and her husband, Adam Zelle β , [ 6 ] a hat factory owner. She was affectionately called "M'greet" by her family. Soon after Margaretha's father went bankrupt in , her parents divorced, and her mother died in The family fell apart, and Margaretha was sent to live with her godfather, Mr.
Visser, in Sneek. She studied to be a kindergarten teacher in Leiden, but when the headmaster began to flirt with her conspicuously, she was removed from the institution by her godfather. At 18, Margaretha answered an advertisement in a Dutch newspaper placed by Dutch colonial army captain Rudolf MacLeod β , who was living in what was then the Dutch East Indies now Indonesia and was looking for a wife. Margaretha married MacLeod in Amsterdam on 11 July The marriage enabled Zelle to move into the Dutch upper class and placed her finances on a sound footing.
The marriage was overall a disappointment. He openly kept a concubine , a socially accepted practice in the Dutch East Indies at the time. When Rudolf was posted to Medan , Margaretha and the children remained in Toempoeng with the family of Mr. At Rudolf's urging, Margaretha returned to him, but his behavior did not change.
In , their children fell violently ill from complications relating to the treatment of syphilis contracted from their parents, [ 17 ] though the family claimed an irate servant poisoned them. Jeanne survived, but Norman died. Some sources [ 12 ] [ unreliable source? After moving back to the Netherlands, the couple officially separated on 30 August The divorce became final in , and Margaretha was awarded custody of Jeanne. Rudolf was legally required to pay child support but never did.
