In September 1939, the actress Steffie Spira was arrested in Paris and taken to La Petite Roquette jail, then later to the internment camp Rieucros per Mende in southern France. She spent over a year there together with roughly one hundred other Germans, victims of Nazi persecution, and women from other nations.

The camp Rieucros was established in February 1939 in a valley near the town Mende, in the Loezere departement. The French government had decided to collect and imprison undesirable foreigners. The first to be imprisoned were refugees from the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. Men were relocated to Le Vernet in the autumn of 1939. From then on, only women were sent to Rieucros. In comparison to the narrow prison of La Roquette, Rieucros was more spacious. The actress organized evenings of song and theatrical performances in the camp. Nonetheless, time in the camp was oppressive for everyone and accompanied by great uncertainty. Leaving was only possible when departure from France had already been assured. Spira was especially worried about her six-year-old son, for whom a friend had managed to find in a place in a home for “lost children.” After great efforts, she was able to bring him back to her. The Hungarian photographer János Reismann photographed four women in 1940 in Rieucros, amongst them Steffie Spira. It was a posed photo. Steffie Spira held her newly introduced numerical label (52) in her hand.