An enormous sports hall in Hanau, a port city on the River Main near Frankfurt, is the temporary shelter to newly arrived migrants who have crossed Europe fleeing poverty and war in their home countries.
While refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and other Muslim countries are also arriving in Germany, Syrians make up the largest single contingent - estimated at about 45 percent.
17 Sep 2015 . Hanau, Germany. Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach
Migrants are seen through the window of a specially chartered train on their way to Hanau.
Amid Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War Two, Germany has said it will likely take 800,000 asylum seekers.
European Commission plans to distribute 120,000 refugees across the 28 European Union countries over the next two years have exposed deep divisions between EU member nations, with stiff resistance from several eastern countries including Hungary.
22 Sep 2015 . Hanau, Germany. Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach
Translations for common medical terms and parts of the body, written in Arabic, German and English, hang on a board.
The longer-term impact on Germany, which unlike Britain or France has no tradition of taking in immigrants from former colonies, is unclear. Many new arrivals are still contending with problems all refugees face, such as learning the language and getting a job. The number of those yet to follow them is also unknown.
Meanwhile in Hanau, in the cavernous sports hall with an athletics track surrounding rows of temporary beds, the new arrivals get their bearings - and draw breath after a journey across many borders, often at great personal risk.