President Barack Obama has arrived in Dresden, the former East German city which was left a smoking ruin by British and American bombers in the Second World War.

The President was greeted by American flags, banners and unofficial posters depicting his beaming face beneath the words 'Ich bin ein Dresdner' – an echo of President John F. Kennedy's famous declaration in West Berlin in 1963 during the Cold War.

"Welcome to Dresden Mr President!" ran the front page headline in one German newspaper, while the popular daily Bild published a full-page photograph of Mr Obama against the US flag.