‘Imperishable symbol’ of U.S.-German friendship?

On this day in 1932: At Asheville’s Riverside Cemetery, F.W. Von Prittwitz, German ambassador to the United States, dedicates a monument to 18 German sailors who died of typhoid while imprisoned nearby during World War I.

“Germany is happy to find herself in the same line with the United States when she advocates disarmament. . . . ” Von Prittwitz tells the crowd of several thousand. “May this monument stand as an imperishable symbol of the friendship between our two peoples and a mark of our determination to maintain it for all future to come.”

In less than a decade, however, Germans and Americans will again be at war.