Us president Barack Obama took part in a wreath-laying ceremony in Warsaw Ghetto last Friday to honour the Jews who fought and died in the uprising there in 1943.

The ceremony was Mr Obama's first appointment on his two-day visit to Poland. An hour after landing, Mr Obama was taken to the ghetto where he was joined by Polish leaders, Holocaust survivors and members of Poland's Jewish community, including Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich.

After laying a wreath, Mr Obama bowed his head as a military bugler played the Last Post.

Speaking at the ceremony, the president said: "This memorial is a reminder of the nightmare European Jewry went through." He then vowed to return in 2013 with his daughters for the opening of the landmark Museum of the History of Polish Jews. "The museum is an important project, not only for Poles and Jews but also for the entire world," he said.

After the ceremony, a leading member of the Jewish community, Monika Krawczyk, urged Mr Obama to do all he can to support Israel, saying: "It's the only Jewish state we have." Obama replied: "I will always be there for Israel."