How To Advertise Your Blog/Artshop


Where you can get noticed.

I have been looking for sites recently to advertise my blog and my art shop
so I have put together a list of places that I have found where you can advertise your art shop,art crafts and blogs. 



Some of the sites below are better than others it all depends on what type of art or blog you have. Some of the sites will be better for painting,prints,crafts while the others will be better for blogs.




Imgur    (1)

This is a good site for your artwork to be shared. You can get thousands of views an hour when you upload an image of your artwork here. 

Always remember to put a link to your art shop/blog in the comment section that way people can find your site.



If you post full size high definition prints as an example you have to remember this is an image share site like any site online other people may download and copy your prints so just keep that in mind. 

If you post full size prints online even if they all are copyrighted there is nothing stopping someone stealing your designs and then trying to pass them as their own. 

I always try to limit the size of images I post of my artwork online so that way they will not have a high definition copy of my art.
LINK TO IMGUR


Reddit   (2)

Reddit is a great place to advertise and get your art,brand or shop more widely known but just always make sure you read the rules of the subs before posting links to your shop as they have rules.

Officially self promotion is normally not allowed some subs do allow it though. 

You are allowed to upload someone else's artwork as an example on some subs but not your own Reddit prefers if you pay for ads etc to advertise your own stuff. 

But many people advertise their work on Reddit including me just do not over spam advertising. 




On some of the subs if you put (buy my prints or buy my art work) in the comments they will class it self promotion and delete your post. 

So instead write something like  (Here is a link to my Art/Shop) in the comments.


Here is my post as an example when I posted it in this sub.

This is a good subreddit as they allow self promotion
for example you can post one post advertising your art-shop,resin,crafts every two days. 

Just remember to read the rules on each sub you post on. 

If you spam any sub on Reddit by posting your art shop every hour they will ban you.



Artwork,Prints,Paintings,Photography
These are some sub reddits that are good to post your prints,artwork I post an image of one of my prints and just leave a comment in the comments with a link to my art shop if you do prints or paintings these are good places to post every few days.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Art
https://www.reddit.com/r/DigitalArt


Homemade face masks advertise?
If you sell face masks the home made type these two subs could be useful to share your works and shops.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FaceMaskFashion/

https://www.reddit.com/r/facemasks/





Crystals

Reddit can be useful to promote your art shop,resin,crystal shop etc it is all about looking to see if there are subs on Reddit that are talking about what you are selling and trying to promote. 
For example let's say you sell crystals and want more people to see your works.

Well this sub is perfect



You are allowed to advertise your crystal shop every Sunday on this sub. 

Here is what their rule says.
(Selling and advertising your shop ONLY on a Sunday.)
They have 82.2k members that means a lot of people will see your works and shop which could mean more sales.

Trolls

Be warned about Reddit there are a lot of trolls on there who may send you messages or comment on your posts insulting you or your artwork etc I have had that happen often my advice is to just block them and ignore them.



Facebook,Instagram   (3)
I have heard many people say they have had success selling prints etc with Facebook and Instagram I do not have an account on them yet but as they have millions of people worldwide they would be a great place to advertise your artworks and shops etc. 

One thing I often hear is people say they join groups on Facebook to promote there artwork and they get a lot of art sales that way.



Twitter   (4)
I use twitter the most to promote my artwork and blog.
The best way to promote your art shop or blog is to engage with other artists,writers,bloggers Retweet their work, follow them, and join art shares. 

I sell wall prints and I often retweet other artists who sell prints because they may help you one day and retweet your work and again you make friends.



Interact with other artists. We all need friends and we can learn much from other people and many will gladly help you.

When advertising your artwork,art-shop etc use hashtags
and look at trending topics to see what people are talking about. 

Let's say the hashtag (#dogs) is trending and you have some cool paintings or wall prints with Dogs add your artwork,print to a (Tweet) with the relevant  tags ( #dogs) (#prints) (#art)  (#artwork)
Don't use too many tags though as twitter will see the tweet as spam.


If you go on google and type  (Trending hashtags twitter)
You will get a list of websites that will show you the best tags for your tweets to promote your Art,Blog.

Here are two sites I just found to save you time.


Hashtags for blogs

Using hashtags is a must if you want more exposure let's say you want to advertise your blog
follow some of the below blog sites and then when you tweet your blog posts tag them in. 


Add these hashtags and the below sites will retweet your post for you to thousands of people so will be a big boost for your posts.
#blogger #WritingCommunity #writerslift
#OurBloggingLife #theclqrt @GoldenBloggerz #writersgain #TRJForBloggers @BloggingBabesRT #rtArtBoost #BlogReq @BloggersHut
#BloggersHutRT #BloggersTribe @cosyblogclub
@BBlogRT

Here are some blog Retweet sites you can follow.



Celebrities On Twitter

Tweeting a celebrity now and again can be useful if you follow them then why not try tweeting them a few times when they comment.

Some celebrities are always on twitter tweeting and many reply daily to their fans. 

Can you imagine if a celebrity retweets or likes your art shop or art work or even a comment you make they have millions of followers who will see that. 


Millions of followers means some of them followers will click your profile to check you out now if you have a pinned tweet with your art shop they may click the links and visit your shop and you make a sale.

This is not to say you should keep annoying them by spamming daily, sending them your artwork no but once in a while is ok and always add a comment etc.

For example I sent my artwork to British Comedian Dom Joly and he kindly retweeted it for me. 

You can see below I was talking about the lock down in the UK.



My Tweet below that I sent.


So how do you get a celeb to like a comment or retweet first thing is to follow them then you could write a message like what do you think of my art or even just comment on a post of one of their tweets.

You might think why would they like my comment or retweet my comment etc.
Here are a few who have liked my comments.

I have had Ice-T, Jean Claude Van Damm,Wesley Snipes,Ricky Gervous and a few others like my comments so it is always worth a try.


Deviant Art    (5)

This site is one of the world's biggest art sites so if you make digital artwork or prints,paintings and you want to get your work out there then this is a good site to join. I have only just found this site
but it has been positive up to now.




You can also offer commissions to create artwork on here and create a free Wix portfolio so well worth joining and it is free to join.

https://www.deviantart.com/wattophotos




Pinterest     (6)
I get a lot of visitors from Pinterest and I try and pin every few days the more you pin the better traffic you will get as Pinterest knows you are creating new stuff.

If you are going to join Pinterest or if you already have an account then set up a business Pinterest account it is completely free and better than the normal account you can still keep your old account and pin your old pins on the new account.



With a business account you can see Analytics how many views on your posts,keywords searched and loads of other useful tools it is so much better then a normal Pinterest account.
PINTEREST LINK


Making Good Pins

If you want to make good pins apparently Pinterest promotes pins that have new images rather then say a stock photo background pin and from what I have read vertical pins get more views.
So use a free site like ( Canva.com) to make some cool pin images for your pins.



YouTube    (7)

If you paint or make resin works or whatever type of artwork you make why not make a video showing your artwork being made and start a YouTube channel. 

A video of one of your items being made that you are selling is a great way to advertise that way the buyer will know the time and hard work that has gone into the item, artwork they are considering buying.

Would you buy a painting if you saw a post on twitter or YouTube of the artist spending days or hours painting it?  or would you rather buy a cheap $4 mass produced painting made in the thousands in a factory from Ebay?



HARO    (8)

This is a good site basically reporters/journalists put out ads on 3 daily emails that get sent to you asking for information or experts for advice and you respond if you have expertise in that area.


For example one reporter was asking for advice on what face masks are best for COVID-19 etc so I sent a reply email explaining I am qualified in H&S and I explained the best masks and explained why. 

In return the journalist put a link with my real name and my LinkedIn profile on the readers digest website so now people read that article and then click on the link which takes them to my LinkedIn site.

I often get employers messaging me asking if I am looking for work as they have read my article so this is a very useful site to join.




Now how can it help you as a blogger or artist?
You just have to keep an eye out on the emails to see what is being asked and then respond by email with your advice blog links etc.

I often see ads asking for bloggers advice and how to start small business's.

It is free to join as a source which is what you need to join as to offer advice.

So what's in it for you?

In short it is free advertisement for you, or your blog/shop.

If you offer advice the journalist can put a link to your shop,blog,LinkedIn so it gets you or your brand more known it is basically free advertisement.


Some journalists may read your advice email and say thank you they will use your quotes etc and not put your name or your blog on there news article there is no guarantee they will.  

I have had that happen as well a few times and I have read their article and it was my words word for word it is a little disappointing as you think I spent an hour giving you advice for free but again there is no guarantee they will put your name or links to your shop blog.




Blogloven,MIX  (9)

MIX
I have only just joined these two sites so can not really offer much advice on them 
Mix has now replaced the old StumbleUpon site and seems good for blogs. 

I have posted some of my artwork on there as well as links to this blog. 

You can also share Reddit posts on there which I have done so you can also get your brand more known. 

You have to remember the more social media accounts that share your artwork,art shop,blog on etc will get you more traffic to your art-shop/blog.

BLOGLOVIN
I am still learning how to use this site so hopefully will learn more and then will update this post. Even if you get a few views though it is worth joining. 







Medium (10)


This is a good site. If you are a blogger you can post your blog posts here to gain more views to your blog. You can also monetize your posts on this site if you are a writer and write good story's and your posts get popular. 


I would say this site is more for the writer,book author type blogger if I am honest.

When I uploaded a few of my blog posts here I did not get many views but I did not add many keywords which is important if posting on medium. But if you write a lot and have a blog may be worth joining up it is free to join.



Red Bubble (11)

This is a good site if you make digital artwork or prints you can upload your designs onto stickers,
t-shirts and many other designs. 

If a t-shirt sells as an example they post them to the customer and you get a percentage of the sale price if the item with your design sells.




Society 6 (12)

Not really a fan of this site  the main reason is I keep trying to upload artwork designs and it just rejects many of the images. 

You have to have the correct size for images or it rejects you. 

I thought I would list it as you may have more luck using it than me. 

It is more or less the same as the red bubble site where you upload designs on t-shirts and you get a commission if they sell.



Buy Me A Coffee  (13)

This is a good site to join if  you are an artist,creator,blogger.
It allows people to donate to you and send you a tip.

The site also has regular giveaways on twitter and you can win. I won £5 a few weeks ago.



It is also free to join and also allows you to post blog posts so again you can advertise your shop,artwork,blog 

This is a great site if you have a blog, shop or make artwork and want people to support you.



Brand
The main advice I have learned is if you join all or some of these sites have a brand so if people go on twitter and then go on Reddit they know it is you or the same brand so have a memorable name or logo I have this as you will see on all my sites as it is easily recognizable .


Few other sites to join

You could also use sites like these below to advertise your art and blog.
Sites like Quora are quite strict on self promotion and may remove your posts and LinkedIn is mainly a business type site. 

I use LinkedIn when I apply for jobs,but I don't advertise my blog there.

But if you have a blog with say Posts such as (Job interview tips)   (How to write a CV) LinkedIn would be the perfect place for you to advertise.

Tumblr Is good if you create digital art or do blogging. I often post on there and get a steady stream of traffic so again worth joining. 




If you have any questions just ask and if you wish to follow me here are my accounts

Twitter             WattoPhotos
Pinterest          Wattoartist/
Deviant Art     Wattophotos
My Art shop    Wattophotos.pixels.com
Red Bubble      Wattophotos/shop
TIP Watto        Buymeacoffee.com/Wattophotos
MIX                 Wattophotosuk

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Flying a glider 3000ft in the air




Birthday Present

I got bought a gliding ticket as a birthday gift. It was something I always wanted to do as I love stuff like that.

You're probably thinking are you crazy getting in a glider with no engine.

Well to be honest I never thought of that at the time I just thought it's a once in a lifetime kind of thing.


Why Do Gliding Though

I have never seen the point in a bungee jump as an example to be honest parachuting yes you see a great view on the way down and flying a glider,helicopter and plane etc  you get to see great views. 

But jumping headfirst on a rope bungee jump over a car park what are you going to see? A stone floor car park is boring, that's just my opinion though.





Arriving At The Airfield

So I arrived at this little airfield basically just a large green field with gliders and farm vehicles etc.

I get there and there are about 5 guys just standing around this truck so they ask my name and say right come sit in the back of our office which turns out to be the back of a large truck.

They say can you fill out this form it is just a basic medical check
with simple questions.
  • Have you had any drugs alcohol in last 24 hours
  • Height and weight
  • Do you suffer from anxiety or vertigo

Then one of  the guys says you have to sign this as well it is just a disclaimer.
I ask what is that for?

Nothing to worry about he says it's just in case you lose an arm or leg or die you get £10000 per arm and £20000 per leg and then a few of them start laughing.

I am standing there thinking that didn't sound too encouraging.






The Pilot

So the pilot comes over an oldish guy, maybe in his 60s
The pilot says his name is Pete and he asks me if I am nervous, not really I said.

He then hands me a parachute and says come over here. I need to explain air safety to you.

So he says right if we have to jump out in the air you need to exit from the left side of the glider and pull down on your parachute that will open it and probably save your life any questions?

You said probably save my life I asked well yes he said nothing is 100% in life is it.

So I am standing there thinking he doesn't sound in too much of a good mood. Is it really wise to get in a glider with him? He just seemed tired.

 I was thinking he better not fall asleep while we are in the air.


Getting in the glider

So I walked over to the glider and the pilot walked me around it telling me just some random
facts its made in Poland and is reliable and has no crashes on record. 

It can go as high as 5000ft I looked at the glider and thought it looked like a toy plane.
 



So I get in the glider Pete the pilot is telling me about the controls
I will take the glider off and when we get in the air and it is stable you can fly it if you feel comfortable.

But I will also have control of the controls for emergencies he tells me.

If you need to exit remember what I said to you that you push that latch up and jump out to your left as I said before and pull the ring on your chute I will jump out first then you 5 secs after me he tells me.




Lift Off

So the glider crew attach this tractor to the front of the glider with a wire that is used to pull the glider down the hill to gain speed. 

The glider crew at the airfield do a final safety check on the airfield for items on the field like bricks or rocks that could damage the wheels on take off. 

Myself and the pilot are sitting in the glider ready to set off. 

All clear they shout to the pilot and put a thumbs up

This tractor starts to drag the glider and we are going down the hill. Speed is picking up the next minute boom. We are in the air and the wire disconnects as you can see in  the video below.



I could feel the wind pushing on the glider as we were going higher like when you're in a plane and you get that bad turbulence the shell of the glider is shaking and rumbling. 

I am thinking to myself I hope this thing don't start falling apart.






2000 ft High

Once we got high about 2000ft it just went smooth no turbulence no shaking just a smooth glide now
the pilot shouts to me can you feel the difference?.

I said yes, what happened? its the air flow he shouts the higher we go the more smooth it will be.






We are gliding and he says right you take the controls. He is sitting behind me and I am sitting in the front so I started to use the controls of the glider. It was just a stick and a few buttons. 

It was good. I liked flying it. 

He said to fly over the crowd below and then ascend to 3000ft so I did brought the glider down low and was gliding for a few minutes
And started to ascend to 3000ft.

The Parachute Don't Work

He shouts to me, are you nervous yet no I said the parachute put me at ease knowing I got that I shouts to him. 

He started laughing, I said what is so funny? 

The parachute doesn't work. He said
I laughed with him thinking he is joking. 




He wasn't joking. He said no honest it wont work we are not high enough
we are 3200ft in the air.

By the time it opens fully it won't slow you down that much so you will break your back and legs if you're lucky.

I said you didn't tell me that on the ground and he started laughing again.

If he would have I probably would not have got in the glider.

I am no expert on parachutes but according to google at least 2000ft is needed for pros and I am no pro. So the fact I have never used a parachute let alone jump out of a glider before would be a big risk and that's if the parachute even opens. (Myself with the parachute below)



The Royal Air Force Pilot

Has anyone jumped out? I shouts to him as I am still trying to glide the glider. By this time now I did feel a little on edge knowing the parachute was not going to work.

The pilot says a guy had to jump out a few weeks ago he went up on his own with the glider he was ex RAF (Royal Air Force) did he survive I asked?.

Yes of course he says his glider would not work so he jumped out and landed in them trees over there he broke both of his legs,pelvis and a few ribs he was in his 70s he is ok now but the funny part is the glider seemed to land on its own with little damage.



Just as he says that another glider flies right past us quite close and the pilot starts shouting swearing at the other glider like he would hear it that high up. 

I said to the pilot what is wrong? He is too close. 

He said he has to stay so far away around 10 metres the wind could blow him into us and we could collide and it's game over for us then.

So I fly the glider and he says right lets land you try land the glider don't worry I have the controls as well he tells me.


Landing

So I fly the glider and he says right lets land you try land over there follow that white line don't worry I have the controls so I can take over if I need to.

I turn the glider around to land on what  looked like a massive green field
with a white line. I kept expecting to crash it nose first in the ground but I managed to land it ok thankfully.


Was it Worth it?

Yes I would recommend doing it  I have to say it was a good experience.  I did not get any photos and my girlfriend did the filming of me up in the air while I was up there.

I am sure I remember them saying you could take a camera up and take photos when the pilot was flying the glider. 


Here is the website if you want to have a look at doing it.
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Why you should get out in nature 2020

Getting out in nature can be good for many reasons. It improves your mental health and helps you destress after a busy day at work or even to get away from the current stress we are all under during this tough year.

The natural air is good for your skin and overall health.
 
Look at it this way you live in a city you are breathing in car exhaust fumes daily as well as being exposed to chemicals in the air all this can have its toll on the human body so what better way to give your mind and body a rest then to go for a walk in nature.



Walking in Nature

Having a walk in your local woodland or park is a great idea to destress you ask any person
If they feel better after a walk in the woods.

They will tell you yes there is something about nature how it seems to heal us when we are feeling down and stressed. We all need to recharge now and again like a battery so nature can recharge you.

Maybe it is our DNA calling us after all we lived in woodlands millions of years ago now many of us never even see nature that much for a number of reasons too much work or we are stuck in concrete city's with no green space.

This is a photo on the top of a cliff in Blackstone Edge England. 

The view of the moorland was an Amazing view and the weather was good as well so it was an added bonus the fresh air up there was amazing.



Photography

If you like taking photos for photography whether it is for a hobby or an art-shop the woodlands and nature is a great place to capture so many good photos from trees,amazing views to forest insects.

I take photos to help relax me and recently opened an art shop online where I sell my photos online links at the bottom or click the photos below.

Here are some of my captures.

Garden of Eden

I took this photo of some trees in a field in Alderley Edge North England. I remember thinking why is there only 3 trees in a big field and it reminded me of the Adam and Eve tree of life story so when I got home I went to work on editing this piece and this is the end result.



Gate To Peace

I took this photo of this old wooden gate. This was the first week after lock down in the UK so a lot of places were quiet as people were going shopping again.

I went for a walk in Alderley Edge forest in Chester,Manchester an amazing place nice calm and quiet full of great healing energy.

I thought to myself it would be a great place to live in a little wooden cabin in woodland like this
rather than a overcrowded city full of noise and car fumes.



Foxglove

This flower seems to grow everywhere but I often wonder if most people know how deadly Foxglove is
either way it is a nice flower and makes a great photo.




Lady on The Edge

I saw this little ladybird in some woodland in the northwest.
One thing I noticed after the lock-down in the UK. 

The insects seem to have took back the forests due to less humans in there we have to remember it is there home so treat it with respect this little bug was just sat on the tree branch for a while enjoying the view. 



Waterfall of peace

This one was a right hidden gem I was looking on google maps for some off the beaten track places to get some photos. 

It was the end of the lock down period at the time so I wanted to avoid traffic and crowded places as people were going crazy as most of the parks and shops had reopened and many of the shops were having sales. 

So the city's were full of cars parked everywhere and people panic buying toilet rolls. So I found this place in Rochdale, North England. I could sit here all day. It was so peaceful just listening and watching this waterfall.





Mental Health

If I am stressed or just having a day feeling a little down I always go to the healing place nature.

When I go for walks in the woods or even the local park to take photos the stress goes away. 

This is why I always recommend to people I know to do the same if they feel a little down then go for a walk in the park. 

It will help heal your mind. Is it a cure for depression or anxiety? No but it will help that is for sure try it what do you have to lose? Maybe 20 minutes of your day going for a walk in a park to see if it makes you feel better try it you will be glad you did. 


It has been proven walking in nature helps reduce depression and anxiety.

With the way things are this year all over the world with COVID-19. 

Nature is the perfect place to take a break from the negative news.
Walk your dogs in the park or go for a walk or even find a tree stump or bench and sit down and you will see the benefit. 

You will feel better mentally and more relaxed and calm.

Even if you go into nature and sit on a bench to gather your thoughts it can be a big boost on your mental health and a good healer this bench was in Mossley Northwest of England.



Always remember to never never give up, keep keep going, is life hard?.

Yes of course some people have life easier than others. Of course if you're rich etc you can live more comfortably and have less worries but it doesn't mean you have no stress. 

We are all human and breath the same air if I was rich I would try help others as much as I could do I wish I was rich no to live comfortable would be enough for me.
 
It is true we are stressed with all the lockdown and pandemic stuff  but you know what if in the future it happens again we will be prepared mentally as we survived this and adapted. 

There is a reason humans have survived so long because no matter what our differences are in the world as humans we can work together. 

I always say to people think of it this way what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. 






Keep positive


Keep positive and remember
tough times make tough people are we stressed today yes but the sun will set and tomorrow it will rise again and so will we ready for the days battles.

You are stronger than you think, so get out in nature and recharge and destress.

You can be the fittest person in the world physically but you also need to look after your mind because without that your body will not be able to function 100% you need both to keep going.

Read my other post for tips to stay positive this year.


There is a great quote from a true legend that makes sense to many of us this year.

Robin Williams 
Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.


Fitness and Health

Getting out in nature can improve your overall health for example you will get fitter walking in nature this will improve and make your heart stronger and improve your lung health. 

The fresh air will do wonders for your body and fitness is so important right now a fit healthy person is better able to fight disease better.

How many of us stare at computer screens or our tablets,Phones daily whether it is for work or just to browse online either way the constant staring at blue screen light can affect our eyesight. 



So getting out in the woods will help strengthen your eyesight and improve overall eye health.

What will improve our eyesight walking in the park seeing squirrels run past us and up trees or staring at our computer screens day in day out, think we all know the answer. 

So put the tablet down with all the negative news online currently and get outside.


There are even studies that have been done that compared people going for a walk in a city to walking in a park. Every participant who walked in the park had lower blood pressure,less anxiety and felt more relaxed.

The participant's who went for a walk in the city had increased blood pressure ,felt more anxious on edge and overall felt stressed so again you can see going out in nature can be a healer.

Can you remember before we all had cell phones I remember being about 14,15 and no one could afford a phone then and they were the size of a house brick as well.

If you were going out you would go knock on your friends house to see if they wanted to come out.

These days what do we all do? Even as adults we text or phone so in a way we all kept in shape in the past by walking to our friends house or even by walking for a pizza now we have phones, food delivery and automatic machines that do everything for us.

Environment Compare

Here is a short video I recorded the other day in a forest in the north west of England.
It is only 20 seconds long but watch this and the video below and tell me what would be a  more relaxing place to go for a walk or just to sit down and gather your thoughts.




Here is a video from a city. Can you see and hear the difference? What do you think is a more peaceful place to go for a walk?




My Artwork

If you want to look at my artwork you can find it here all my prints are available to buy
Every purchase comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. 


My designs are available In.


You can also follow me on 
Twitter @WattoPhotos
Pintrest wattoartist

If you would like to donate tips etc I have a buy me a coffee account
but again this is not necessary.

My Art shop


Art Prints


at 7 comments:

Visiting sachsenhausen concentration camp



Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Sachsenhausen is a concentration camp that was used from 1936 to 1945 located near Berlin in Germany. Around 36 kilometres away in Oranienburg.



This is a hard post to write as this place is a place of evil and the crimes committed here are somewhat unspeakable but we must let people know what happened there so we can educate future generations.

I will talk about my visit here and some of the history.


Image Roger Veringmeier 



Warning this is an extremely sad story and there are descriptions
which may upset you so use caution because some of the horrors committed at this camp can be disturbing to read.



My history

Some of my ancestors were in some of these concentration camps. 

I am not sure which camps I remember my grandmother telling me some of her family were in some of the camps some of them escaped before the war started. 

But other members of the family stayed in Europe I am guessing she meant Russia. 

She told me some of her family were sent to the death camps and were killed by the Nazis. She told me this story when I was young. 

When I was old enough to fully understand what she meant she had passed away so I could never find out any more information from her. 

It Wasn't until recently that I started to try to find my family history looking at documents online.  

I realized I had Jewish DNA heritage after having the My Heritage DNA test. 

I had DNA matches with people that had lost relatives in the camps so there was some link there but I am trying to find more information but it can be hard without paper records.



History of the camp

The camp prisoners included Jews, homosexuals, Roma , Jehovah's Witnesses,soviet civilians,political opponents even Joseph Stalin's oldest son Yakov Dzhugashvili, was held at the camp.

During the war the camp held more or less any person that The Third Reich hated and wanted dead.

In the photo below you can see German political prisoners arriving at the camp.




One of the camp's prisoners was Pastor Martin Niemöller,
many of us will know his poem.

Horrors

At least 100,000 people died at this camp by 1945 there were up to 50,000 prisoners there the camp was originally designed to hold up to 10,000 prisoners.

The camp was used as a testing station by the Nazis drugs were forcibly tested on prisoners experimental drugs were often used to test the effectiveness on humans some were designed to increase stamina and endurance of Luftwaffe pilots in missions but these were tested on prisoners first to see if they had any side effects which often they did. 

The prisoners would be given experimental drugs and then made to run around 40km each day with heavy backpacks to test military shoes designed for the German army.

There were also experiments testing deadly weapons such as mustard gas on the prisoners.




Experiments

The cruel SS doctors would perform dissections on live prisoners, sterilizations, castrations.

Other horrible medical torture methods included infecting prisoners with hepatitis and other deadly diseases and testing the effects of potassium cyanide and other deadly toxins on the prisoners.

Most of the prisoners would die from these horrible experiments; those who did survive would forever suffer from the effects for the rest of their life.

One of the morgue tables


Executions

Photo below shows the head of the SS Heinrich Himmler touring the camp he was an overseer of the Nazi genocidal programs and one of the most evil and powerful men in The Third Reich he was one of the main architects of the holocaust and responsible for the extermination of millions of people.

Himmler The Butcher of Prague


Around 13,000 red army (Russian) prisoners were executed by being shot in the back of the neck they were told they were going to be measured for a uniform. 

The Russian soldiers would be told to stand in a small room with music playing but then they was shot in the back of the neck from an hidden hole in the wall behind them by a cowardly camp guard.

When I was visiting the site a tour guide told me they would shoot the prisoners in the back of the neck
and shown me the brick ruins of part of the wall of the building she said they would execute the prisoners so they could extract the gold from the teeth fillings and the victims teeth were used as well for the Third Reich dental sector .

I hate writing about this because it makes me angry thinking how much monsters the Third Reich was but I feel I have to write this post to get this story more known.


The next step

The evil guards found the method of executing the prisoners one by one by shooting them to be to time consuming so would make prisoners dig a trench there own grave basically then the guards standing above the trench would shoot the prisoners in the trench seen in the (below photo). 
    
Death trench


The trench method was causing disruption in the camp and the guards were worried it may cause the prisoners to revolt so they wanted to hide the killings from the other prisoners. 

Finally in 1943 they moved on to using a newly built gas chamber they would gas the prisoners and would then cremate the body's of the victims in ovens (Photo below)

Remains of ovens

After the cremations there was that much human ash from the cremated bodies that The Third Reich camp sold the cremated ash to local construction companies to create concrete.

Remains of ovens


Around 12,500 bodies were found when excavations took place at the camp many were children,women and elderly people these were the early victims of the camp.

If a prisoner got to ill they were either killed or transported to other camps.

Tortured

Torture was a common occurrence prisoners were locked in Solitary confinement.
Many prisoners were taken to other parts of the camp to be killed and tortured so the other prisoners could not see.

In one of the solitary confinement cells one was used to hold a British Prisoner who was shot by the SS.




As a former soldier myself I remember seeing the Union flag (British flag) in the cell I stood there thinking sad but also proud knowing my country and the men and women and even some of my family stood up and fought in the war against the evil of the Nazi regime and Hitler.






Sachsenhausen salute

The cruel guards would make prisoners squat and stand with their hands outright for over 8 hours
we would call it a stress position these days but it got the name Sachsenhausen salute in the camp.

Prisoners would often be whipped and beaten with iron truncheons like the drawing shows below this was drawn by an inmate who witnessed prisoners being whipped until bleeding and then salt would be rubbed into the open wounds to cause terrible pain to the prisoner.

When a prisoner would scream stop in terrible pain the guards would laugh and start again.

SS officers torturing prisoner



In the camp

Walking around the camp was strange it is a quiet place no birds or anything it.

What I mean is when you go places you may see birds fly above etc and hear other noise cars and people talking etc but here there was nothing just a strange silence.



It was like the animals (Birds) felt an evil presence here so avoided the area.
There are some places you can go and even if you know no history of the place you get a strange feeling like something bad happened here this is that kind of place.




Barrack 39




I went into one of the cabins known as (Barrack 39) this cabin mainly housed Jewish prisoners in crammed conditions.

It was quite a strange experience. I was the only person there my girlfriend stayed outside she said she felt uncomfortable going in the cabin. 

So I went in on my own as I was walking. 

My footsteps was creaking on the old wooden floor it seemed to echo and it was like other people were walking in there but it was just me was a strange experience.







Slave labor

The camp was used to create fake currency; this was one of The Third Reich's biggest 
currency counterfeiting operations. 

Prisoner's with artistic skills were used to forge fake notes that would be used to try and destroy the British and American economy with fake notes.

The plan was to drop the notes over London by plane to weaken the economy.

Other labour was used in a nearby brick factory to make bricks for Third Reich building projects.

The prisoners would be worked to death if they were too weak then they would be shot.
(Photo below) shows the prisoners return to the camp after a day of labour.




There are also reports that the workers were used to build the Heinkel He 177 bomber plane.

Many of these crashed in the war for unknown reasons so many historians have said maybe the prisoners in a heroic last act of defiance sabotaged the planes to help the war effort. 

Heinkel He 177 bomber 



Conditions

The prisoners were fed rations of food the more the population of the camp increased the harder it would become for the prisoners as food would be more scarce and more infectious diseases spread rapidly throughout the camp as well as lice. 





Many would suffer starvation and other medical problems, an open wound for example in poor hygiene conditions with lack of water and antiseptic would likely turn gangrene.

With no medical care ever being provided prisoners would die and those who were too ill to work or had disabilities were killed.


Escaping

There were a few successful escapes but the security on the camp was high, any prisoners going near the gravel pit also known as the death strip seen below were shot sometime's the guards would tell prisoners to walk on the pit or they would be shot then the guards would shoot them anyway.

It has been said the camp guards who shot prisoners escaping would get extra leave days as a bonus.
So you can imagine they would tell prisoners to go on the strip shoot them then say they tried to escape.
 


The camp had regular patrols with guards and guard dogs and even had an electric fence to prevent escape and an 8 feet high stone wall around the camp as well as 9 guard towers.

One of the guard towers had an MG 08 machine gun which is a deadly weapon that could fire 500 bullets per minute.




You can imagine the prisoners had little energy due to lack of food so escape would be very difficult.

When I visited the camp I thought to myself how could you escape from here it would be near to impossible the area was surrounded with guard towers and open ground so any movement would be spotted.



The human eye and brain are programmed to detect movement that is why when you are looking for something and your eyes immediately notice a squirrel running across a tree.

If a prisoner was caught trying to escape they would be hanged in front of the other prisoners to make an example to other prisoners thinking of trying to escape.


Here is a drawing from a prisoner who witnessed the below happening.
The prisoners would be left hanging from these wooden poles for hours.


The actual poles I saw in the camp were a little strange being up so close to them to be honest knowing people were strung up on them and died if them wooden posts could talk. 

I think they would scream the horrors they had seen.
The prisoners would be tied up on the posts this would cause bone dislocation and a slow painful death.



Liberation


As Soviet forces closed in on the camps position the SS guards were terrified
it is a well known fact during the war the Soviet army would have no mercy on any captured Nazis most would be executed on the spot with no trials.

Many of the Russians had seen their homeland
pillaged by the German army when Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union so many of the Soviet forces would be judge, jury and executioner to a captured Third Reich soldier.

The SS evacuated 33,000 prisoners on foot; the ones who were too weak to walk were left behind to die in the camp and any prisoner who had military training was killed. 

The prisoners who still had a little energy were marched on a death march (Photo Below).



This is a sign post near to the camp it is in German but I have used google to translate
I hope I translated the writing correctly.


The sign says;

More than 6,000 inmates of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp were murdered on this march by the SS.

(TODESMARSCH)
DEATH MARCH


(IHR VERMACHTNIS LEBT IN UNSEREN TATEN FORT)
YOUR LEGACY LIVES IN OUR DEEDS



Russians.

Around a week later from the camp evacuation April 22th, 1945 the Russian army liberated the camp but sadly many prisoners still died even when the Russian army provided food and medical treatment.

Russian army talking to prisoners

It is said as the Russian army was closing in on the camps position the camp SS guards dumped 9 tons of human ash in the nearby canal that was left over from cremating prisoners body's. 

Dumping the human ash was an attempt to try and hide the crimes they had committed at the camp so we will never know the full scale of how many people were killed at the camp but we know from records kept that at least
100,000 people were victims of the Third Reich at the camp.

    
Russian soldier statue with POWS




How to get there from Berlin

You can take the S1 train from Berlin station to Oranienburg central station.
it is around 31km and takes about 40 minutes.

Once you arrive at Oranienburg station
you could get a bus from the station to near the camp. 

Myself and my girlfriend walked from the station to the camp. It took us about 25 minutes there were a few sign posts along the way with directions but these days we all have google on our cellphone so it's much easier to find.

Here is the address of the camp:

Sachsenhausen concentration camp address
Str. der Nationen 22, 16515 Oranienburg, Germany


Berlin central train station
Hauptbahnhof, Europaplatz 1, 10557 Berlin, Germany


Oranienburg train station near to camp 
16515 Oranienburg, Germany


Map below showing the camp address.



Here is a simple map showing the direction and distance from Oranienburg train station to the camp google says it is 2.2km and takes around 27 minutes to walk.

Admission to the camp is free but you can pay a fee for an audio guide and a map.

You could book a guide tour group basically they walk you around and show you the parts of the camp and tell you what happened at each part. 

You would need to book the tour yourself as the camp did not offer that when I went I have added a few tour guide links above that offer tours to the camp. 

If you visit the camp it may be worth going on a tour as you will find out more history this way and be shown around. 

I would also take an umbrella as there is no cover above at the camp and some water and snacks may be useful as I am not sure there is anywhere to get any. 

There was a nearby cafe but they only sold drinks but that may of change now have a look at some of the links above for more info.



Images
Big thank you to the below organisations and people for letting me use the images in this blog post.
Frederick John  http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/
@AdrianPHerrera twitter
Trip advisor



Past and future

We must not forget the past of World War II if we forget the horrors of world war II then it could happen again in parts of the world. 

We all know the signs of dictatorship so we need to act again if we see this happening.

Germany is well worth a visit and I found Berlin a great city the food was amazing and there was a lot of places to visit.

The German people were very welcoming while I went about Berlin I had a few conversations
with cafe owners and they would just ask about England and were friendly. 

So as I always say when you go abroad you are a guest so just be careful not to offend the locals with what you say .

I noticed when talking to many of the locals they don't really like to talk of the past they seem to get off the subject when they asked me where I had visited today etc and I told them the Concentration camp.

I understand they want to forget the past and think of the future now I kind of understand that as they may be ashamed of their country's history. 

But again we can not forget history so we have to talk about it. 


Future generations must know what country's stood up to evil and what people perished in the war and most importantly the horrors of the Third Reich and the evilness of Hitler must be known.

The Holocaust should be taught in schools there is still many people who are unaware of the full scale of what happened even when I was in school there was no history on any conflicts.

An estimated 6 million people died in the holocaust
and around 85 million in World war II.

I would recommend the Steven Spielberg ,Movie (Schindler's List)
it is a very sad true film but is a must watch to understand the Holocaust and the life of Oscar Schindler
he saved more then a 1100 Jewish peoples life during the Holocaust.

There is an old quote I quite like and it makes sense.

(The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing)

The world stood up to the monster (Hitler) and he was defeated. 
Good will always prevail over evil.

I am here alive now thanks to my ancestors. If Hitler would have won the war then I would not be here as my ancestors would not be.

This is all that remains of the monster's bunker where he ended his own life blaming the German people for losing the war.

It is now a car park in Berlin. 
You would not know it was there except for the sign post in the photo below.

Remains of Hitler's bunker



If you found this post interesting then please share on social media etc 
to get the story more known it is the least we can do for all the people that died in the camp and at the hands of the Third Reich.
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