The Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah is meant to be a joyous occasion marking the completion of the reading of the scriptures. But in 1980 at Paris’ rue Copernic synagogue, the deadliest antisemitic attack in France since the Second World War turned a celebration to horror.

At around 6:30 pm, more than 300 worshipers were rocked violently by a terrible blast. The synagogue’s front gate blew off, its ceiling collapsed, and glass shards tore through the sanctuary. Eyewitnesses outside described a 20-metre flame erupt into the night sky followed by the sight of cars launched into the air.