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Too Stubborn to Die : A Child of Nordausen
The author recounts how she survived being a prisoner at a Nazi concentration camp
- GenresNonfictionBook Club
208 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 13, 2014
I met Cato while sitting at the receptionist desk at a law firm back in 2002. She told me a part of her story and it was so incredible, I just had to check her book out. It is a wonderful, inspiring book about survival and doing the right thing in unimaginable circumstances. I had her lecture students while I was in grad school and saw the same looks of disbelief on the students' faces that I had on mine when Cato and I first met. And yes. Cato is the most stubborn person I have ever known. I'm so glad I was sitting at the desk that day!
Read
May 7, 2010I can't put stars to this one. It was good. I'm glad I read it. BUT it is very very very difficult to read. Probably the most difficult holocaust memoir I've ever read. And really she's only in Nordhausen for... a little less than half the book. If you have a hard time reading about child abuse and violence, don't pick this one up.
March 23, 2009
This woman shows amazing strength to survive her experiences growing up. First she begins her life in an abusive home and then endures the horrible abuse inflicted upon her as the Nazis took over her town. I learned the "Dutch" temper is a true cultural emotion.
September 25, 2008
This book was so sad, it turned my stomach. This is a true story of a girl from the Netherlands who went to a party of youth one night and ended up in a German Concentration Camp. This is a true story. I could only read it for a short while then read something more uplifting before I could pick it up again. I learned alot from this book.
Here are some of my favorite quotes that I took from the book:
From the book - Too Stubborn to Die by Cato Jaramillo
“The Holocaust survivor”tells the story, out of infinite pain, partly to honor the dead, but also to warn the living- to warn the living that it could happen again and that it must never happen again. Better that one heart be broken a thousand times in the retelling, if it means that a thousand other hearts need not be broken at all.” Robert McAfee Brown
“Children are like empty vessels: you can fill them with good; you can fill them with evil; you can fill them with hate; and you can fill them with compassion.” Alfons Heck (former Hitler Youth Member)
“”If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” Carl Jung
“The heaviest wheel rolls across our foreheads to bury itself deep somewhere inside our memories.” Mif, a child in a concentration camp - fate unknown
“I have lots of courage, I always feel so strong and as if I can bear great deal, I feel so free and so young! I was glad when I first realized it, because I don’t think I shall easily bow down before the blows that inevitably come to everyone.” Anne Frank
“The broad mass of the people, in the simplicity of their hearts, more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.” Adolf Hitler
“All propaganda has to be popular and has to adapt its spiritual level to the perception of the least intelligent of those towards whom it intends to direct itself.” Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
“There are worst things waiting for men than death.” A.C. Swinburne
“Whether we wish it or not we are involved in the world’s problems, and all the winds of heaven blow through our land.” Walter Lippmann, A Preface to Politics
“Fear was my father, Father Fear. His look drained the stones.” Theodore Roethke,
“Older people have formed their opinions about everything and don’t waver before they act. It’s twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and maintain our opinions, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.” Anne Frank
“It is terrible outside. Day and night more of those poor miserable people are being dragged off, with nothing but a rucksack and a little money. Families are torn apart, the Dutch people are anxious too, their sons are being sent to Germany. Everyone is afraid.” Anne Frank
“The Nazis took my mother far away from me, to a place from which people cannot come back. Nine years old, I learned then a never-ceasing deep sorrow. Even now, Mother’s Day is the saddest day of the year for me.” Martha Heinz
“I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears.” Elie Wiesel, Night
“Humor is a prelude to faith and Laughter is a beginning of prayer.” Reinhold Niebuhr
“I went to Auschwitz. . . and was shown the many exhibits . . . that leave nothing to be added concerning the evil human beings can do to other human beings. But the one that left the most profound impression on me was the simplest of all: a room full of shoes, mostly baby shoes.” Robert Jay Lifton
“Have we ever thought about the consequence of a horror that . . . is yet the worst of all to those of us who have faith; the death of God in the soul of a child who suddenly discovers absolute evil?” Francois Mauriac
“The children could not forget their histories, of course, and just because they were forbidden to speak did not mean that they would not remember.” Deborah Dwork
“To live authentically in (the Holocaust’s) aftermath, one must be aware of the reality of radical evil and its startling triumphs, and I fight against that evil and that triumph.” Michael Berenbum
“Whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!” Anne Frank
“It wasn’t the ruthlessness that enabled an individual to survive. It was an intangible quality . . . an overriding thirst . . . perhaps, too, a talent for life, and a faith in life.” Death Camp Survivor
“There are tyrants as insanely evil as Hitler walking among us today. We must never believe that we can watch cruelty from a distance and not be touched because the hatred is not directed at us. Hatred is a poison of such strength it is like an acid that eats through anything that tries to contain it. I was not a Jew, an enemy of the state, or even an adult. That’s the way hatred works - indiscriminately. That’s the way it always is. Base your life on callousness toward a group of people, and one day you turn around, and your mother or your little sister of best friend has been destroyed by the hate you thought was directed at someone else. Or you find that your own life has been destroyed. And it all starts with the belief that you are above another human being.”
Cato Jaramillo
“It is impossible to be truly thankful and cruel at the same time. Americans suffer from a severe appreciation deficiency, fed by materialism and acquisitiveness. The same materialism that makes us callous toward others robs us of simple joys. What goes unacknowledged in our lives every day? Must the simple pleasures of life be taken from us before we will feel grateful for fresh air, a pillow, a friend who is still alive in the morning, a bite of fresh bread, a sip of clean water, a family untouched by hate, a mother who is glad we were born, freedom from tyranny, a country at peace, soap the strength to run, the opportunity to love, a tomorrow we aren’t afraid to wake up to?”
“Because I know what violence feels like - how it looks, how it hurts, how it kills - I feel we need to take the violence off television. We need to take the profit out of violence. If television executives were forced to spend even twenty-four hours in a concentration camp, perhaps they would learn that violence is not a game. If they experienced the reality of torture at the hands of guards who were indifferent to human suffering, they would know that violence is not entertainment. Do those who make their fortunes by poisoning the minds of our minds of our children understand that their own children must live in the society being polluted? Who do they want a generation that considers violence a routine part of life?” Cato Jaramillo
Here are some of my favorite quotes that I took from the book:
From the book - Too Stubborn to Die by Cato Jaramillo
“The Holocaust survivor”tells the story, out of infinite pain, partly to honor the dead, but also to warn the living- to warn the living that it could happen again and that it must never happen again. Better that one heart be broken a thousand times in the retelling, if it means that a thousand other hearts need not be broken at all.” Robert McAfee Brown
“Children are like empty vessels: you can fill them with good; you can fill them with evil; you can fill them with hate; and you can fill them with compassion.” Alfons Heck (former Hitler Youth Member)
“”If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” Carl Jung
“The heaviest wheel rolls across our foreheads to bury itself deep somewhere inside our memories.” Mif, a child in a concentration camp - fate unknown
“I have lots of courage, I always feel so strong and as if I can bear great deal, I feel so free and so young! I was glad when I first realized it, because I don’t think I shall easily bow down before the blows that inevitably come to everyone.” Anne Frank
“The broad mass of the people, in the simplicity of their hearts, more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.” Adolf Hitler
“All propaganda has to be popular and has to adapt its spiritual level to the perception of the least intelligent of those towards whom it intends to direct itself.” Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
“There are worst things waiting for men than death.” A.C. Swinburne
“Whether we wish it or not we are involved in the world’s problems, and all the winds of heaven blow through our land.” Walter Lippmann, A Preface to Politics
“Fear was my father, Father Fear. His look drained the stones.” Theodore Roethke,
“Older people have formed their opinions about everything and don’t waver before they act. It’s twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and maintain our opinions, in a time when all ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when people are showing their worst side, and do not know whether to believe in truth and right and God.” Anne Frank
“It is terrible outside. Day and night more of those poor miserable people are being dragged off, with nothing but a rucksack and a little money. Families are torn apart, the Dutch people are anxious too, their sons are being sent to Germany. Everyone is afraid.” Anne Frank
“The Nazis took my mother far away from me, to a place from which people cannot come back. Nine years old, I learned then a never-ceasing deep sorrow. Even now, Mother’s Day is the saddest day of the year for me.” Martha Heinz
“I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears.” Elie Wiesel, Night
“Humor is a prelude to faith and Laughter is a beginning of prayer.” Reinhold Niebuhr
“I went to Auschwitz. . . and was shown the many exhibits . . . that leave nothing to be added concerning the evil human beings can do to other human beings. But the one that left the most profound impression on me was the simplest of all: a room full of shoes, mostly baby shoes.” Robert Jay Lifton
“Have we ever thought about the consequence of a horror that . . . is yet the worst of all to those of us who have faith; the death of God in the soul of a child who suddenly discovers absolute evil?” Francois Mauriac
“The children could not forget their histories, of course, and just because they were forbidden to speak did not mean that they would not remember.” Deborah Dwork
“To live authentically in (the Holocaust’s) aftermath, one must be aware of the reality of radical evil and its startling triumphs, and I fight against that evil and that triumph.” Michael Berenbum
“Whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!” Anne Frank
“It wasn’t the ruthlessness that enabled an individual to survive. It was an intangible quality . . . an overriding thirst . . . perhaps, too, a talent for life, and a faith in life.” Death Camp Survivor
“There are tyrants as insanely evil as Hitler walking among us today. We must never believe that we can watch cruelty from a distance and not be touched because the hatred is not directed at us. Hatred is a poison of such strength it is like an acid that eats through anything that tries to contain it. I was not a Jew, an enemy of the state, or even an adult. That’s the way hatred works - indiscriminately. That’s the way it always is. Base your life on callousness toward a group of people, and one day you turn around, and your mother or your little sister of best friend has been destroyed by the hate you thought was directed at someone else. Or you find that your own life has been destroyed. And it all starts with the belief that you are above another human being.”
Cato Jaramillo
“It is impossible to be truly thankful and cruel at the same time. Americans suffer from a severe appreciation deficiency, fed by materialism and acquisitiveness. The same materialism that makes us callous toward others robs us of simple joys. What goes unacknowledged in our lives every day? Must the simple pleasures of life be taken from us before we will feel grateful for fresh air, a pillow, a friend who is still alive in the morning, a bite of fresh bread, a sip of clean water, a family untouched by hate, a mother who is glad we were born, freedom from tyranny, a country at peace, soap the strength to run, the opportunity to love, a tomorrow we aren’t afraid to wake up to?”
“Because I know what violence feels like - how it looks, how it hurts, how it kills - I feel we need to take the violence off television. We need to take the profit out of violence. If television executives were forced to spend even twenty-four hours in a concentration camp, perhaps they would learn that violence is not a game. If they experienced the reality of torture at the hands of guards who were indifferent to human suffering, they would know that violence is not entertainment. Do those who make their fortunes by poisoning the minds of our minds of our children understand that their own children must live in the society being polluted? Who do they want a generation that considers violence a routine part of life?” Cato Jaramillo
February 6, 2009
This book is sold as an true story, however this is an made up store
based on the following facts.
Page 5, almpst everybody in the neighborhood was Jewish.
Fact, not tue, there was one single man and one women living the Cato's street, those two people were living on number 267 and Cato was living on number 33.
The Cato was not born in this street as written in this book, according to the city archieves.
Page 29, Cato writes about her father was in that other war, WWI, not so long ago.
Fact, Holland was not involver in WWI, Holland was neutral.
Dutch men did not fight agaist Germany in WWI
Page 51, The soldiers on the trucks stood ready to shoot anyone who
got in theire way, fact, that did not happened.
Page 66, Cato writed writes that her death grand mother was stuffed
with straw for the vieuwing, fact that did not happen in Holland
and I don't know if any other in Europe ever did this.
Page 78, the Germens did't allow us to have heath in our homes.
Fact, not true coal was rationed on October 1 1940 and was available
until Sept. 1944, after this date no electicity, coal (only on the
black market)and no food.
Jews were made to wear yellow armbandswith the word Jood (Jew) printed
on them.
Fact, not true, the Jewish people in Holland were forced to wear the yello star with the word Jood (Jew)on there left side of there clothing.
The same star the Jewish people of France, Belgium,Germany had to wear.
Jewish people in the Eastren country's wore armbands or armband and stars.
Only a few yards from us, a circle of towering German soldiers had
formed around an old Jewish man who was forced to lick the Nazi's boots.
Fact, dit did not happen in any city in Holland, things like this did
happen in Eastren Europe country's.
Page 79, Airplaines flew over our city dropping hundreds of bombs.
Fact,not true, bombs fell on Amsterdam 5 times, once from an German
plane in 1940, 4 times from Allied Air Forces, but not for hours and hours as written on page 80
The German bom was about 3 miles from Cato's home and the Allied bomb's from 10 miles to 15 miles form Cato's home.
Page 85, Jews were forced to live in a ghetto behind a high brick
walls and cato walked through the dark and smelly sewers
Fact, not true, there was no ghetto with high brick walls in any
place in Holland during 1940-1945,and Amsterdam has no sewers some
one can walk in.
Dutch men who wore white armbands with the letters NBS on it, did
not existed in 1940-1943, the BS, as it was called was formed in
Seop. 1944 on orders of Prince Bernhard (after the invasion)of the Dutch Beatrix Brigade.
Page 87 no one could get clean. (because no soap or warm water or even some times no water)
Fact not true, that started after Sept. 1944, when Cato was suppose
tobe in Nordhausen.
Cato saw this man Hitler many times in Amsterdam.
Fact, not true Hitles never was in Amsterdam.
Hitles once came thru Southern Holland on his way to Paris (by train)
and did not stop in anywhere in Holland.
Page 88, we heard that the Americans would soon be having a food drop.
Fact, the hunger winter started in Sept. 1944 and lasted to May 1945
when Cato was in Dora concentration camp according her book.
Page 89, one night the American food drop came.
Fact, the first drop started on April 1945, in day light and all the following food drops were done in day light, stipulated by the Germens
when they agreed to the food drop.
The first food drop by Amsterdam (not on Amsterdam)took place on May first on designated places in the form of 40lbs Army "10 to 1" ration
cartons, no loose cans were dropped.
Page 90, the next day it was annouced the the soldiers were going to
search every house to take the food away.
Fact, not true the Germans never took ant dropped foor from anybody.
Page 92, Cato writes about hte bombing of her neighborhood.
Fact, her neighborhood was never bombed.
Page 103, cato descripes ab excecution of 16 men and boys in the park were she use to play and was forced to watch.
Fact, 30 men were excecuted (not boys)in her park in March 1945,
how could she be forced to watch, while she was still in Nordhausen at
that date?
Page 104, a women on the ground began to scream and wanted to take
her son's body home and an officer shot her twice.
Fact, this never happened.
Page 109, Cato saw a German soldier beating two small Jewish children
with the butt of his rifle, and she also witnessed the hanging of 5
Jewish men and there bodies were hanging there until the bodies were
rotting away.
Fact, nothing like that took place in Holland, atrocities like that
did take place in many places in Eastren Europe.
Page 126-168, Cato writes about her arival in a camp she later identified as camp Dora (page 135)
Fact, Dora did not exisisted yet on the date she wrote in her bbook.
Dora never had any female guards, Dora had no seperation to the
left or richt.
No tattooing in Dora, that was only done in Auschwitz.
There were no showers (gas chambers), there was no shotting of
clothing in Dora, all prisoners came from Buchenwald in prison clothing.
There was no burning of babies in Dora, there were no babies in Dora.
No medical experiments were done in Dora, no human fat was used to
make soup in Dora.
No Jewish children were destroyed by the hundreds in Dora, because there were no Jewish children in Dora.
Cato saw 10 ovens in Dora, Dora had 2 ovens.
The shooting of 500 Jewish men did not happen in Dora.
Cato never was in Dora or any other concentration camp.
And this false information go's on and on.
All the facts can be verified by the Dutch War Documentation Office
(NIOD) the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam,the sewer disrtict of Amsterdam and the memorial museum in Dora concentration camp.
Jerry Meents
Ogden, Utah
based on the following facts.
Page 5, almpst everybody in the neighborhood was Jewish.
Fact, not tue, there was one single man and one women living the Cato's street, those two people were living on number 267 and Cato was living on number 33.
The Cato was not born in this street as written in this book, according to the city archieves.
Page 29, Cato writes about her father was in that other war, WWI, not so long ago.
Fact, Holland was not involver in WWI, Holland was neutral.
Dutch men did not fight agaist Germany in WWI
Page 51, The soldiers on the trucks stood ready to shoot anyone who
got in theire way, fact, that did not happened.
Page 66, Cato writed writes that her death grand mother was stuffed
with straw for the vieuwing, fact that did not happen in Holland
and I don't know if any other in Europe ever did this.
Page 78, the Germens did't allow us to have heath in our homes.
Fact, not true coal was rationed on October 1 1940 and was available
until Sept. 1944, after this date no electicity, coal (only on the
black market)and no food.
Jews were made to wear yellow armbandswith the word Jood (Jew) printed
on them.
Fact, not true, the Jewish people in Holland were forced to wear the yello star with the word Jood (Jew)on there left side of there clothing.
The same star the Jewish people of France, Belgium,Germany had to wear.
Jewish people in the Eastren country's wore armbands or armband and stars.
Only a few yards from us, a circle of towering German soldiers had
formed around an old Jewish man who was forced to lick the Nazi's boots.
Fact, dit did not happen in any city in Holland, things like this did
happen in Eastren Europe country's.
Page 79, Airplaines flew over our city dropping hundreds of bombs.
Fact,not true, bombs fell on Amsterdam 5 times, once from an German
plane in 1940, 4 times from Allied Air Forces, but not for hours and hours as written on page 80
The German bom was about 3 miles from Cato's home and the Allied bomb's from 10 miles to 15 miles form Cato's home.
Page 85, Jews were forced to live in a ghetto behind a high brick
walls and cato walked through the dark and smelly sewers
Fact, not true, there was no ghetto with high brick walls in any
place in Holland during 1940-1945,and Amsterdam has no sewers some
one can walk in.
Dutch men who wore white armbands with the letters NBS on it, did
not existed in 1940-1943, the BS, as it was called was formed in
Seop. 1944 on orders of Prince Bernhard (after the invasion)of the Dutch Beatrix Brigade.
Page 87 no one could get clean. (because no soap or warm water or even some times no water)
Fact not true, that started after Sept. 1944, when Cato was suppose
tobe in Nordhausen.
Cato saw this man Hitler many times in Amsterdam.
Fact, not true Hitles never was in Amsterdam.
Hitles once came thru Southern Holland on his way to Paris (by train)
and did not stop in anywhere in Holland.
Page 88, we heard that the Americans would soon be having a food drop.
Fact, the hunger winter started in Sept. 1944 and lasted to May 1945
when Cato was in Dora concentration camp according her book.
Page 89, one night the American food drop came.
Fact, the first drop started on April 1945, in day light and all the following food drops were done in day light, stipulated by the Germens
when they agreed to the food drop.
The first food drop by Amsterdam (not on Amsterdam)took place on May first on designated places in the form of 40lbs Army "10 to 1" ration
cartons, no loose cans were dropped.
Page 90, the next day it was annouced the the soldiers were going to
search every house to take the food away.
Fact, not true the Germans never took ant dropped foor from anybody.
Page 92, Cato writes about hte bombing of her neighborhood.
Fact, her neighborhood was never bombed.
Page 103, cato descripes ab excecution of 16 men and boys in the park were she use to play and was forced to watch.
Fact, 30 men were excecuted (not boys)in her park in March 1945,
how could she be forced to watch, while she was still in Nordhausen at
that date?
Page 104, a women on the ground began to scream and wanted to take
her son's body home and an officer shot her twice.
Fact, this never happened.
Page 109, Cato saw a German soldier beating two small Jewish children
with the butt of his rifle, and she also witnessed the hanging of 5
Jewish men and there bodies were hanging there until the bodies were
rotting away.
Fact, nothing like that took place in Holland, atrocities like that
did take place in many places in Eastren Europe.
Page 126-168, Cato writes about her arival in a camp she later identified as camp Dora (page 135)
Fact, Dora did not exisisted yet on the date she wrote in her bbook.
Dora never had any female guards, Dora had no seperation to the
left or richt.
No tattooing in Dora, that was only done in Auschwitz.
There were no showers (gas chambers), there was no shotting of
clothing in Dora, all prisoners came from Buchenwald in prison clothing.
There was no burning of babies in Dora, there were no babies in Dora.
No medical experiments were done in Dora, no human fat was used to
make soup in Dora.
No Jewish children were destroyed by the hundreds in Dora, because there were no Jewish children in Dora.
Cato saw 10 ovens in Dora, Dora had 2 ovens.
The shooting of 500 Jewish men did not happen in Dora.
Cato never was in Dora or any other concentration camp.
And this false information go's on and on.
All the facts can be verified by the Dutch War Documentation Office
(NIOD) the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam,the sewer disrtict of Amsterdam and the memorial museum in Dora concentration camp.
Jerry Meents
Ogden, Utah
August 5, 2017
I could not tell if this book was true or not. There were a few parts where something didn't feel quite true or spot-on. Regardless, it was filled with horrific scenes. There was not much light in it. Obviously, the Holocaust was not a very light-filled time, but the best Holocaust books I have read are those where, despite the awful experiences, there are flickers of hope and goodness. I would not recommend this book.
January 13, 2026
I read this book back in high school I believe, my mom knew the author and she gave her the book. I think about her story often! Her story was incredible as well as tragic. I cannot believe all she went through!
December 1, 2017
So glad this book was written. Horrendous things done to children during the WWII by Nazis. A must read to avoid similar future!
200 pages
200 pages
March 25, 2019
True story of author in a concentration camp.
December 2, 2021
I first read this in High school when she visited my school and spoke. I have since read it many more times. This is a great book. Her experiences are heartbreaking.
October 23, 2013
This is a true story written by Cato Jaramillo who lives with her husband, Antonio, in Lehi, Utah.
Cato Jaramillo was born in 1931 in Amsterdam. It was a sad day when she was born. She was never allowed to forget that she was an accident. Her brother, Derk was 10 years old when Cato was born. He told her the story of the day she was born. He was more than a brother. He gave her protection she needed from her father and the care she didn't get from her mother. That was a lot for a 10 year old boy. Their parents would yell at them and called them awful names. Never a hug, present or "I love you". Cato also had a brother, Piet, who was eighteen months older than her. She never saw her Pa sober, except on the days during the war when rationing dried up his liquor supply. Their house was always dirty and so was their clothes. There was a bakery next door owned by a Jewish couple which didn't matter to anyone. Almost everyone in their neighborhood was Jewish except the Jaramillo family. Cato turned 10 in 1941, and they knew which buildings the Germans lived in because they hung red German flags from their windows. Many Jews were thrown down in the streets and spat upon. She saw Jews waiting in line to get into big German trucks. She heard the words concentration camps but she had no idea what they were. There was never enough food. One day two of her friends invited her and her brother, Piet,to a party and fill their bellies with all the good food they could eat and even take some home to their parents. Cato asked if it was safe and they said "of course". As they neared the hotel Cato could smell the aroma of fresh bread and her mouth started watering. There was more food there than she had ever seen in her life. As they were eating, their two friends said they would be right back. After eating and putting some food in their pockets they decided they better go home as their friends had not come back. When they got outside their saw their two friends and called to them. Their friend pointed them to an officer and he snapped his fingers and two Nazis took a step toward them. They started to run but were caught and wrestled to the ground. They were searched and threw into the back of a truck full of other crying children. Their decent into hell had started.
They were in the concentration camps for 14 months until rescued by Allied troops. They suffered terribly under the hand of the guards in the camp Nordhausen.
After returning home, things had not changed with their parents. Cato ran away and lived with another family until she was old enough to leave an be on her own. Her life today contains the same mixture of joy and frustration as most people. She has made peace with herself and now has another life.
I enjoyed this sad book. My grandmother came from Germany to the United States when she was just a girl, but that was before the war. I wished I had been able to ask her questions about her earlier life but she died before I was interested in such things.
Cato Jaramillo was born in 1931 in Amsterdam. It was a sad day when she was born. She was never allowed to forget that she was an accident. Her brother, Derk was 10 years old when Cato was born. He told her the story of the day she was born. He was more than a brother. He gave her protection she needed from her father and the care she didn't get from her mother. That was a lot for a 10 year old boy. Their parents would yell at them and called them awful names. Never a hug, present or "I love you". Cato also had a brother, Piet, who was eighteen months older than her. She never saw her Pa sober, except on the days during the war when rationing dried up his liquor supply. Their house was always dirty and so was their clothes. There was a bakery next door owned by a Jewish couple which didn't matter to anyone. Almost everyone in their neighborhood was Jewish except the Jaramillo family. Cato turned 10 in 1941, and they knew which buildings the Germans lived in because they hung red German flags from their windows. Many Jews were thrown down in the streets and spat upon. She saw Jews waiting in line to get into big German trucks. She heard the words concentration camps but she had no idea what they were. There was never enough food. One day two of her friends invited her and her brother, Piet,to a party and fill their bellies with all the good food they could eat and even take some home to their parents. Cato asked if it was safe and they said "of course". As they neared the hotel Cato could smell the aroma of fresh bread and her mouth started watering. There was more food there than she had ever seen in her life. As they were eating, their two friends said they would be right back. After eating and putting some food in their pockets they decided they better go home as their friends had not come back. When they got outside their saw their two friends and called to them. Their friend pointed them to an officer and he snapped his fingers and two Nazis took a step toward them. They started to run but were caught and wrestled to the ground. They were searched and threw into the back of a truck full of other crying children. Their decent into hell had started.
They were in the concentration camps for 14 months until rescued by Allied troops. They suffered terribly under the hand of the guards in the camp Nordhausen.
After returning home, things had not changed with their parents. Cato ran away and lived with another family until she was old enough to leave an be on her own. Her life today contains the same mixture of joy and frustration as most people. She has made peace with herself and now has another life.
I enjoyed this sad book. My grandmother came from Germany to the United States when she was just a girl, but that was before the war. I wished I had been able to ask her questions about her earlier life but she died before I was interested in such things.
January 25, 2009
It was terrible nothing good happened to her and I know it was factual but it was gross! They sent her to a concentration camp where they were fed soup with maggots in it and the base of the soup was made from human fat. She had to watch as two Jewish girls had their thighs cut open and had dirty rags stuffed into them and then were sewn up and left to die. They had many "lessons" from the Nazis a Jewish girl who had been raped many times had a baby and the Nazi soldiers swung the baby around and every so often cut off a body parts like ears and noses. She herself had been raped a couple of times (a few times from her father before she was sent to the concentration camp) and once the Nazis brought in a bunch of Gypsy and Jew babies in a truck and they had her and the other kids in the camp burn them some of them were even still alive so she broke their necks so they wouldn't suffer. Her friend (who were part of Hitlers Youth) betray her and thats how she was sent to the camp. It was very depressing gruesome book. If you like torture then this book would be good for you but I didn't like it.
August 10, 2019
This book is a made up story from the beginning to the
end.
The author did not have any proof that she was in any
concentration camp.
Even in the 4ht. District Court in Provo she could not
proof anything she told the Judge.
The Judge told her she had no credabillity and she was
her own worst wittness.
I have this on videotape.
On Channel 4 she told that she had her Tattoo removed
from her arm but in court she told that she had a
tattoo in her pubick hair.
and in court she told she had a Tattoo in her pubic
hair.
The whole part of her kidnaping, the date of the food
drop, the hanging of the Jewish men, the bombing of her
neighborhood is all made up.
The exicution of the 30 men (no young boys) was in March
of 1945, how could Cato have seen this?
According to her book,she still wasn in Dora.
want to know more? contactme at; jmeents3729@msn.com
January 23, 2009
This book was wonderful and so disturbing at the same time. My life will never be the same after reading what this little 12 year old girl (along with everyone else in Holland and Germany) went through in the concentration camps. Honestly I did have to skip a couple of parts in the camp because it was too gruesome, but I have a new admiration for the survivors and what they had to go through. Cato writes in such an amazing way, that you don't want to put the book down. Her humor peaks through and puts a little bit of sun shine through. I think every gang member and every racist should read this book, to help understand how hatred of one group spreads to others.
July 22, 2009
This book was really captivating. I've read a lot of books about the Holocaust, but this one had horrifying accounts that I'd never heard before. After reading the book, I did some research on the author who now lives in Lehi, UT and I guess there has been some controversy over whether parts of the story were fabricated. She defends herself and points out that she was only 11 when she was taken to Nordhausen, so some of the dates and detail may not be exact, but she recounted her experiences to the best of her ability. Anyway, an interesting read- I couldn't put it down.
July 11, 2012
I actually met Cato and have a signed copy of this book. She came to my school when I was in 8th grade and did an assembly for our school. I remember listening in awe and vowing to never hate another individual. This is truly a powerful, horrifying story. I first read it when I was thirteen and couldn't believe the horrible childhood Cato endured, but was so inspired by her strength to succeed. I have since reread it several times (just barely finished it again) and each time I do - my heart reaches out and breaks for her over and over again.
November 11, 2013
I actually met Cato. My mother did a painting of her children. I have never met a more cheerful person in my life.
I met her before I read to the book. She gave me a copy, and after I read it I was so impressed with her story and hardships. I never imagined that one so happy could have gone through such a terrible ordeal.
I love this story it is one that I have read over and over again. I learn something new about myself everytime I pick it up.
I met her before I read to the book. She gave me a copy, and after I read it I was so impressed with her story and hardships. I never imagined that one so happy could have gone through such a terrible ordeal.
I love this story it is one that I have read over and over again. I learn something new about myself everytime I pick it up.
May 3, 2008
This is a true story of WW2. The girl has parents who never wanted her, and they're not afraid to admit it, as well as do some other things that turn out helping Cato later on. Her father is a drunk and her mother is mean, but then all the lessons she learned by enduring helped her endure things like breaking babies necks and throughing them onto a fire (what they were forced to do in the camps). A true and inspiring story.
December 5, 2009
Horrifying! I still think often of the stories from this book and am shocked that these things were ever a reality for anybody let alone someone from my community that is alive today. The only reason these things should be shared is that then we know what mankind is capable of and we can take upon ourselves a responsibility to do what we can to help those we may never have met, but who really do need our help.
January 2, 2012
This book was amazing, but so terrible at the same time. It tells you so much about the life of a little girl who had to go through the concentration camps, and how terrible her life was. Many people are saying this book is not true, but why get all technical about dates of things. These things truly did happen and that is the most important part. She is not lying about what happened. It is a very good book. I loved it
September 3, 2013
This was the first Holocaust book I ever read. I was about 12. It impacted me and I've never forgotten some of the passages. I read it a total of 3 times before the age of 14. Some reviews say it isn't factual, but I don't really care because even if these things didn't happen to this one Jew, they no doubt happened to at least 1,000 others. I appreciate this book more than I like it because it opened my young eyes.
September 11, 2012
I have a rough time with WW2 stories. I always end up liking them overall but they are so hard for me to read. The tragedy and awful things they had to endure are almost unbelievable. She had to deal with some pretty terrible stuff before during and after the war and somehow made a life for herself. She must be a pretty amazing lady, I can't imagine a life with so much pain.
July 17, 2008
This book tugs at the heart. I bought this at a book signing by the author. The heartbreak in her eyes while speaking with her made me very emotional. I still am in awe of this woman and how she mentally survives. Although it is an extremely hard read, it was worth the lessons learned.
September 29, 2011
This book will absolutely make you think differently about judging others different than yourself. She illustrates the devastating consequences that hate and intolerance can have on people. It is a story of survival and an essential reminder to be kind to others, no matter your differences.
July 27, 2008
great story of the Holocaust and one of it's survivors.
January 23, 2009
I was surprised that Cato Jaramillo was a local author for me. It was a great book that made me sad and thoughtful of "As a Man Thinketh."
February 25, 2009
What an amazing book!! It's so sad to hear about the horror's of the holacaust, esp from a childs view.
September 2, 2010
As individuals we sometimes surprise ourselves with the strength we have to keep going for another day.
September 1, 2011
I realize there is a lot of controversy surrounding this book. Fact or fiction, the book still touches on a piece of history that however disturbing has lessons and warnings to be gleaned.
November 23, 2011
What a heartbreaking book! Whether it is true or not...it's important to remember.
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