Turning off iCloud Drive deletes files from Mac?

This is freaking ridiculous. Good thing I have multiple external SSD backups. Now iCloud Drive has erased all current contents of DOCUMENTS and the DOCUMENTS folder on iCloud Drive contains only MUCH OLDER copies of materials supposed to be in DOCUMENTS folder.

You could say it was my fault for turning iCloud Drive on and then OFF too quickly, not giving iCloud Drive enough time to update online before erasing the contents of my DOCUMENTS folder on the Mac.

Crazy.

PS Solution offered above does not work.

OK, let me be clear. Maybe it's my fault.

1) Last year sometime I turned on iCloud Drive w/ DOC and DESKTOP

2) Subsequently I turned that off, like 6 months ago.

3) Most of the files of that time remained in iCloud Drive (don't know why)

4) Tonight clicked on iCloud Drive AGAIN and clicked on Docs and Desktop

5) 5 minutes later decided this was not a good idea & UN-clicked iCloud Drive

6) Went to my local Documents directory and ALL FILES WERE GONE

7) Ditto desktop files

8) Went to iCloud & files there were old, out-of-date files that had been there before.

9) Then, since Documents directory was empty, DROPBOX deleted all files, too

0) End of experience.

I guess this is what happens with a sync app. I wish iCloud Drive worked like Dropbox, i.e. it should keep all files on iCloud Drive until they are deleted ON THE LOCAL HARD DRIVE. Dropbox, acting intelligently, waited until iCloud Drive deleted everything in DOCUMENTS folder before deleting from Dropbox.

Lord knows what iCloud Drive was doing. Why was it MOVING files from local hard drive. I did not want them MOVED, I wanted them COPIED, i.e., DUPLICATED on iDrive. I even clicked the iDrive box that said "all files will be left on your hard drive if there is room" and there was plenty of room, like 200 GB.

Fun for people.

Ah! Heaven Forfend! There they are in a new location! Without any notification thereof, though now that you tell me I vaguely remember reading this once long ago. Had I only remembered I would naught have raised a ruckus! Thanks be to all for the patience.

PS Just for my information, and maybe my memory, what is the rational for moving the whole directory into the USER/Library location instead of leaving it where it was?

PPS Also, if I turn iCloud Drive on with DOCS/DESKTOP on, then let everything back up, can I then UNCLICK iCloud Drive altogether or just the part having to do with DOCS/Desktop and then have a full backup (duplicate) on the iCloud Drive as of that date AND the files back in my regular working DOCUMENTS directory (Maybe move them back from the USER Library)?