 Beside the political prisoners, starting from October 1937, "notorious" and financial criminals were also sent to the camp.The camp "de facto" ceased to exist on the night of September 17–18, 1939 after the Soviet invasion of Poland, the detainees were released, and staff abandoned the facility.The institution was created on July 12, 1934, in a former Tsarist prison and barracks at Bereza Kartuska on the authority of a June 17, 1934, order issued by Polish President Ignacy Mościcki.