JOSEF

From the St. Louis, Josef can see Miami on the American coast and wonders why the United States will not let them in. Most of the children still play at the pool, but the adult passengers are too defeated to socialize. Josef is surprised when his mother puts on makeup, wears a party dress, and goes to the dance hall. When he questions her, she asks him if he knows why he is named Josef. She tells him that her brother’s name was Josef, and he died in France, in the Great War (World War I). She tells Josef that he must choose to live life as a ghost, or he can dance. Josef does not understand. 

There is an announcement that the St. Louis is heading back to Europe. The passengers become upset and start arguing with the crew. A man named Pozner pulls Josef aside and asks if he was one of the children that got a tour of the engine room and the bridge. When Josef tells him that he was, Pozner tells him that some of the passengers are planning to storm the bridge and force the captain to run the boat aground on the U.S. coast. Josef thinks it is a terrible plan, but Pozner tells him that they will need Josef to show them the way to the bridge.