The ship returned to Europe where the governments of Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands offered the passengers temporary haven. But with the German invasion of Western Europe, many of the St. Louis passengers were forced to embark on a tragic odyssey — into hiding, ghettos or concentration camps.

Weil was sent to an orphanage for Jewish refugee children in France. His father died of pneumonia in a French internment camp. Weil eventually was able to move himself and his mother to the United States.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, Weil will join several other area survivors who were St. Louis passengers and researchers from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

Researchers Sarah Ogilvie and Scott Miller will present a behind-the-scenes look into their 3-year effort to document the fate of the St. Louis passengers.

The pair have accounted for all but 12 of the passengers. They will be in San Francisco and also Los Angeles to continue their detective work. Their hope is to complete each St. Louis passenger's personal story and bring closure to this page of Holocaust history.

Their presentation will take place in the Koret Auditorium at the S.F. Main Library, Lark and Grove streets. For more information, call Jeffrey Janis in Los Angeles, who directs the regional office of the Holocaust museum, at (310) 556-3222.