Janowska Concentration Camp

he Janowska concentration camp began as a factory on Janowska Street in Lvov, Poland. In October 1941, this factory became a camp when the SS established living quarters for forced laborers next to the armament plant. Janowska was not only a forced labor camp, but also a transit center, used to transport Jews from the Lvov ghetto to extermination camps. SS officials in the camp enjoyed killing and torturing prisoners to music, so they organized an orchestra from among the prisoners. The orchestra was ordered to write “The Death Tango,” which would be played during executions. Members of the orchestra were killed prior to the Soviet liberation. The Janowska camp was liquidated in November 1943, after thousands of Jews had been killed or transported to killing centers within its walls.