From "Armistice" by Bernard Malamud

Morris is anxious over the German invasion of France, as France had protected so many Jews.

When the war began, Morris placed his hope for the salvation of the Jews in his trust of the French army.

Day after day, as the battle progressed, Morris sat on the edge of the cot in the kitchen listening to the additions to his sorrow, nodding his head the way the Jews do in mourning, then rousing himself to hope for the miracle that would save the French as it had saved the Jews in the wilderness.