Three women standing in a group; verso: Men carrying beams in the vitamin race

This image shows long-haired naked women before they were shot. Janowska at first had no female inmates but after massive 'actions' of 1942 a female barracks was established. Although female hair was removed at camps with gas chambers Janowska and some smaller concentration camps skipped this procedure. Before prisoners were to be executed at 'The Sands' they were commanded to undress quickly. The 'Death Tango' would have been played at this time. The brutal treatment of all the prisoners in Janowska left people with little hope. They knew that death was inevitable. The human skulls in this image act as a reminder of the overwhelming sense of death experienced by the prisoners. Verso: Many of the work brigades were given jobs with no practical purpose. Jobs included moving bricks and wooden beams from place to place while Nazi officers whipped, tortured and shouted at the prisoners. 'Unskilled labourers' such as lawyers, rabbis, teachers etc. were given the worst back-breaking jobs and met their deaths soon after their arrival in Janowska. In the lower image of three inmates talking, there is another image beneath it which is just apparent. One can just make out figures carrying long beams above their shoulders.