Under German occupation, the Cimade continued its operations, working with refugees, many of whom were Jewish, who, having fled from Germany and other war affected European countries, were interned in Southern France.
Temporary housing units were donated by the Swiss churches and many volunteers from other countries joined the teams as “fraternal workers” to work on reconstruction and resettlement efforts.
[5] Having developed a vocation of working with displaced populations, the Cimade was prepared for the waves of uprooted people who came from Eastern Europe, and North Africa in the first instance, later from Latin America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.
[3] While the major focus of Cimade's work has been within Metropolitan France, teams were also active in foreign countries i.e. in Algeria (both during and after the Algerian war for independence), Senegal, and Rwanda (after the genocide).
Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of Cimade's work is the commitment to show active solidarity with refugees, migrants, and oppressed people by being “present” (fr.