Seventy years ago 12-year-old Johanna Merkin, nee Hacker, and her younger sisters, Melanie and Paula of Vienna, were three of the thousands of kindertransport children to arrive at the station around Chanucah.

Now, 12 years after Johanna's death her daughters Dr Ros Merkin, who has been reader in drama for 16 years at Liverpool's John Moores University, and Jane Merkin, who has produced BBC and Channel 4 programmes, decided to commemorate the anniversary with unique promenade performances at the station.

Dr Merkin, whose drama students performed at the event, told the Jewish Telegraph: "My mother and her sisters initially went to a hostel in London. They were then taken in by Jewish foster families in Sunderland."

Johanna was less fortunate in her placement than her sister Paula, who later moved to Prestatyn.

Paula stayed with an Isaacs family who later moved to Leeds but kept in touch with the family over the years.

Despite the fact that all three sisters are no longer alive, Julian and Miriam Isaacs of Leeds attended this week's Liverpool Street event.

Meanwhile, Johanna, who had lost her parents and younger brother in the Holocaust, left Sunderland to stay with London cousins before she married and settled in Wembley.

Dr Ros said: "When we were growing up my mother's story was not hidden from us, but it was not much talked about."

Then nine months ago Dr Merkin, who studied drama at Warwick University, and her sister Jane who studied film and drama at Reading University, were having a 'random' conversation with a musician cousin.

The idea for this week's railway station happening, entitled Suitcase, "snowballed" from there, she said.

Although Chanucah is later this year than in 1938, the two sisters used the theme of the eight days of Chanucah throughout the Suitcase production.

For seven days prior to the happening, messages and images were displayed on the station's video screens and information boards alerting passengers to the fact that something or someone would be arriving on December 2.

After eights days of heightened expectation eight individuals arrived at Liverpool Street station, each with their own Kindertransport story, whether it be a child refugee waiting for a foster parent, a railway worker or a bemused bystander.

The pre-booked audience, in groups of 10-15 moved around the station to hear the stories.

The three performances, on Tuesday morning, noon and evening ended around a memorial statue in front of the station where a Salvation Army brass band morphed into a klezmer band, accompanied by the lighting of yahrzeit candles and the eating of doughnuts.

Besides the pre-booked audience, passing commuters were also able to participate in the event, which took place with the full co-operation of the station authorities.

Dr Merkin, who has organised many live events, said: "I wanted to bring the kindertransport story to people who didn't know about it."

She carried out her research with the help of the Holocaust Education Trust and the Association of Jewish Refugees.