German Peruvians are

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian citizens of full or partial German ancestry. In general, the term is also applied to descendants of other German-speaking immigrants, such as Austrians or the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

, or to someone who has immigrated to Peru from German-speaking countries.

History

Since independence, Germans had been immigrating to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

on a small scale, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, a number of German immigrants have settled in other parts of

, primarily in

. Also, many of these German immigrants have

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

heritage.

19th century

The first wave of immigration was in 1853, organized by then-president Ramon Castilla. These immigrants established themselves in the cities of Tingo Maria, Tarapoto,

Pucallpa Pucallpa (, ; Shipibo language, Shipibo: ''May Ushin'') is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the C ...

, Moyobamba, and in the department of Amazonas. Baron Kuno Damian Freiherr Schutz von Holzhausen, the leader of the immigration movement, consulted with the then Peruvian Minister of Foreign Relations, Manuel Tirado. The meeting's purpose was to colonize the central jungle to better link the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

and

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coasts. The colonists would end up colonizing Pozuzo. In 1854, the first immigration contract was signed between the Baron and then-

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

José Rufino Echenique. The next year, in 1855, this contract was nullified as Echenique had been ousted and Ramon Castilla had assumed the presidency again. The Baron signed a new contract with the new president on December 6, 1855. According to the contract each colonist would be reimbursed by the government for the cost of the voyage from Europe to Pozuzo, the construction of a new highway from Cerro de Pasco to Pozuzo, each colonist 15 years old or older would receive 15 pesos, the distribution of land between the colonists of which they would have legal ownership, exemption for the first six months of taxes, and the responsibility to build schools, churches, and other basic needs. The government, however, required that the colonists be

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and workers skilled at a trade. To make this project possible the Baron was hired by the Peruvian government to oversee the colonization, paying him a salary of 2,400 pesos annually. The first wave of colonists departed

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in 1857 and arrived in the

vian port of

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

two months later. The third wave of immigrants to the jungle occurred in 1868, taking the same route as the second wave of immigrants did. In later years, the descendants of the German immigrants would go on to found new cities throughout the central jungle such as Oxapampa and Villa Rica.

20th century

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, some German Peruvians became under the influence of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and began their own branches of

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. About 2,000 German Peruvian lived in Peru during World War II, with the total number of known active Nazi party members in Peru being documented at more than 200. The prominent families such as the Emmel family in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

and Fischer family in Andahuaylas, the Albrecht family in

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

and the Schäfer family in Piura signed their names as Nazi Party members.(24 July 1939) ''Internal report of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the appointment of Mr. Albrecht as honorary consul in Cuzco''. Berlin, p. 169005 Carl Dedering led the Nazi Party in Peru and much of the documentation regarding the party in Peru was lost, some of it burned by party members to prevent incrimination.Martínez-Flener, Milagros (2013) ''NSDAP/AO Landesgruppe Peru: presentación general del Partido Nazi en el Perú (1932-1945)'' In the remote village of Pozuzo, the Nazi Flag would be raised on the town's flagpole. Peru's government would abide by British blacklists targeting German businesses in the country during the war. The Alexander Humboldt School in

was a meeting place for five branches of the Nazi Party, with the school's director and teachers being deported to

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

in the United States for being leaders. After Peru broke diplomatic relations with Germany in 1942, some naturalized German Peruvians were sent to internment camps in the United States. Many German Peruvians placed their accounts in the Embassy of

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

due to its closeness with Nazi Germany, with about 3 million soles being present by 1945.

Education

German schools in Peru: * Colegio Peruano-Alemán Beata Imelda * Deutsche Schule Lima Alexander von Humboldt (Lima) * Deutsche Schule Max Uhle Arequipa * Reina del Mundo Schule (Colegio Peruano-Alemán Reina del Mundo)

Notable German Peruvians

* Andrea Moberg * Moritz Hochschild * Liesel Holler * Federico Kauffmann * Jorge Koechlin * Maju Mantilla * Alberto Thieroldt * Edith Noeding * Gladys Zender * Barton Zwiebach * Juliane Koepcke * Martha Hildebrandt * Antonio Brack Egg * Isaac Mekler * Christian Meier * Guillermo Wiese de Osma * Guillermo Lohmann Villena * Gladys Zender * Francisco Sagasti * Tracy Freundt * Claudio Pizarro * Hans Rudolf Oehlhey

German Peruvian institutions and associations

Instituto Superior Tecnologico Privado Peruano

Colegio Peruano Alemán - Alexander von Humboldt

Colegio Waldorf Lima

Colegio Peruano Alemán "Beata Imelda"

Instituto Cultural Peruano Aleman

Colegio Peruano-Alemán "Max Uhle"

Colegio Peruano Alemán Augusto Weberbauer

Club Peruano Aleman

CAPA - Centro de Amistad Peruano Alemán

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080723121305/http://www.centromallqui.org.pe/ Centro Mallqui
Fundación Brandt

Cultural Acupari

Agro Acción Alemana / Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (DWHH)

Comisión Brandt

References

{{Portal bar, Germany, Peru Ethnic groups in Peru European diaspora in Peru

Peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...

German diaspora in South America