Obama at Buchenwald: 'We Must Be Ever-Vigilant'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd L), US President Barack Obama (2nd R), Nazi concentration camp...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd L), US President Barack Obama (2nd R), Nazi concentration camp inmates Elie Wiesel (R) and Bertrand Herz carry white roses as they visit the camp at Buchenwald near in the eastern German city of Weimar on June 5, 2009. After policy talks and a news conference in Dresden, Obama visited the camp where 56,000 people perished in the Nazi era.

(JENS-ULRICH KOCH/AFP/Getty Images)
More Photos

Obama: 'It Is Important to Bear Witness'

The Buchenwald visit has personal significance for Obama, whose great-uncle Charles Payne was part of a military unit that helped liberate a nearby satellite camp in 1945.

Payne told ABC News that he remembered what he saw: "Most of them [were] in advance stage of starvation and wearing the most pitiful kind of rags. And [they were] overjoyed to be liberated from the camp."

"You can see where the machine gun had been sitting, behind some bushes," he continued. "And they had their tin cups, clearly thinking they were going to get food, and they got shot instead."

Obama, who has never before visited a concentration camp, said it was important for him to make the stop.

"It is up to us to bear witness, to ensure that the continues -- the world continues to note what happened here, to remember all those who survived and all those who perished, and to remember them not just as victims, but also as individuals who hoped and loved and dreamed just like us," he said.

Related

PHOTOS: Travels of the Obama Presidency

WATCH: Bottom Line on Obama's Muslim Outreach

Before Obama Speech in Cairo, Aide Cites 'Undeniable Breach' Between U.S. and Islamic World

"And just as we identify with the victims, it's also important for us, I think, to remember that the perpetrators of such evil were human as well, and that we have to guard against cruelty in ourselves. And I want to express particular thanks to Chancellor Merkel and the German people because it's not easy to look into the past in this way, and acknowledge it and make something of it -- make a determination that they will stand guard against acts like this happening again."

Wiesel said he hopes Obama can affect change.

"Mr. President, we have such high hopes for you, because you, with your moral vision of history, will be able and compelled to change this world into a better place where people will stop waging war. Every war is absurd and meaningless. Where people will stop hating one another. Where people will hate the otherness of the other rather than respect it," he said.

Obama Puts Pressure on Palestinians

Earlier in the day Obama continued his push for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palistinean peace process, telling the Palestinians they have responsibilities to uphold in the ongoing efforts for a settlement.

Obama said that while his statements telling the Israelis to stop settlement construction have received significant attention, there has been less focus on the pressure he is putting on the Palestinians and Arab states to take concrete actions to move closer to peace.

"When it comes to the Palestinians, we know what they're supposed to be doing. They have to continue to make progress on security in the West Bank. They have to deal with incitement issues," he said.