The night many say marked the start of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany is being remembered 80 years on.

Holocaust survivors were joined by chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis in Hendon for a memorial service to remember Kristallnacht on November, 10, 1938.

The service commemorated the anniversary of the attack in which synagogues were torched, homes vandalised and more than 90 people were killed.

The kristall – crystal – in the name comes from the broken glass that littered the streets after the attacks.

Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg spoke about his memories of the night:

He said: “I was an eye witness to the events of Kristallnacht.

“Despite the passage of time, the memories remain crystal clear in my mind, as do my memories of my time spent in the camp.

“That night every Jewish shop was looted and ransacked.

“The large synagogue just down the street from where we lived was totally ransacked - When they had had their fill of destruction it was set alight, still smouldering the next morning.”

Mr Goldberg was only an eight-year-old at the time and remembered the Sturmabteilung, commonly known as the Brown Shirts, a Nazi paramilitary group, who carried out the attacks.

He added: “I remember being terrified seeing hordes of brown shirts, the tough guys of the Nazi system, running through the streets.

“I remember distinctly the commotion outside my house, we were so scared we stayed inside.

“One or two weeks after Kristallnacht I remember all the children from the Jewish Primary School were taken to the site of the shul, which was now a pile of rubble.

“We were ordered to pick it up and throw it onto the truck - To all of us, young children, it was terrifying, but we had to just obey orders.”

Kristallnacht occurred after the assassination of German diplomat Ermst Vom Rath in Paris by a Polish Jew.

Using the killing as an excuse, the Nazis encouraged supporters and sent thugs to attack the Jewish communities across the country.

A total of 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps after the pogrom.