Young Elie and his father are placed with a group of prisoners near a gas chamber. "The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria . . ." His voice broke. "Father," I said. "If that is true, then I don't want to wait. I'll run into the electrified barbed wire. That would be easier than a slow death in the flames." He didn't answer. He was weeping. His body was shaking. Everybody around us was weeping. Someone began to recite Kaddish, the prayer for the dead. I don't know whether, during the history of the Jewish people, men have ever before recited Kaddish for themselves. –Night, Elie Wiesel Why do the prisoners recite the Jewish prayer known as the Kaddish? They are praying for an end to the long, difficult war. They believe they are about to die in the crematorium. They are tricking the guards to hide their plans for revolt. They practice nonviolent defiance in the face of persecution.