US President Barack Obama arrived at eastern German city of Dresden on Thursday evening, starting his 24-hour tour of Germany.
This is President Obama's second trip to Germany in nine weeks after he moved in the White House. Earlier on April, he visited south-western German city of Baden-Baden to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
During his stay in Germany, President Obama is scheduled to tour Dresden, pay his respects at the former Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald and visit injured soldiers in a US military hospital in Landstuhl.
Dresden has geared up for President Obama's visit.
Over 5,000 public servants had already been mobilized to directly involve in serving President Obama's trip. Security helicopters were patrolling the sky, and heavy police force shielded the downtown Dresden and guarded the routes for President Obama's visit.
Local media reported that even swimming and fishing in local rivers were temporarily banned during President Obama's stay.
On Thursday evening, thousands of local people were holding a grand gala in downtown Dresden to extend their welcome to President Obama, the first US President who has set foot in the city.
Thursday's Saechsische Zeitung, a major local newspaper, front paged "Welcome to Dresden, Mr President" and President Obama's huge smiling photo.
The German Times, a local English-language tabloid, on Thursday released a special issue for President Obama's visit, titling "Welcome to Saxony," which eulogized President Obama and the strong ties between the German federal state and the United States.
On Friday morning, President Obama is due to tour Dresden, which was rebuilt after heavy bombing during World War II, including the well-known the Frauenkirche church. President Obama then is scheduled to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
After the midday, Merkel will accompany President Obama to Buchenwald, located near the city of Weimar in Thuringia state. There, the two leaders plan to meet Holocaust survivors, notably Jewish writer and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel.
By the end of World War II, Buchenwald was the largest Nazi concentration camp on German soil. Around 56,000 prisoners died through execution or maltreatment before the camp was liberated by US forces in April 1945.
Local media revealed that President Obama's great-uncle, Charles Payne, was amongst the soldiers who liberated a subsidiary camp of Buchenwald on April 5, 1945.
Later on Friday, President Obama will also pay a visit to injured American soldiers at the US military hospital in Landstuhl, then the President will travel to France to attend ceremonies in Normandy marking the 65th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings.