The authorities did not think the war would last long. As a result, solidarity networks for the poor first formed informally based on the model of 19th-century charities at the initiative of private philanthropists and sponsors. The social elite often involved the same individuals as the political elite, and charities began to surface in every one of the twenty administrative divisions or arrondissements. Here, we offer a small sampling of the many charities, with various purposes and recipients, that connected the areas of the capital and appealed to Parisians’ generosity.
Medical assistance for refugees at the Paris Circus
Charles Lansiaux composed this small photographic report at the Paris Circus, rue de la Motte-Piquet. The circus, which no longer exists, was requisitioned during the war as a home for refugees from Belgium and invaded regions of France.
Photograph, September 24, 1914
