German Peruvians

German Peruvian

Regions with significant populations
Lima, Oxapampa, Pozuzo, Villa Rica, Arequipa
Languages
Spanish, German, Austrian German
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism

A German Peruvian is a Peruvian citizen of German descent. The phrase may refer to someone born in Peru of German descent or to someone who has immigrated to Peru from Germany. Among European Peruvians, Germans were one of the largest groups of immigrants to settle in the country.

History

Since independence Germans had been immigrating to Lima on a small scale. The first wave of immigration occurred in 1853, organized by then-president Ramon Castilla. These immigrants established themselves in the cities of Tingo Maria, Tarapoto, Moyobamba, and in the department of Amazonas. Barón Cosme Damián 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 and Atlantic coasts. The colonists would end up colonizing Pozuzo. In 1854, the first immigration contract was signed between the Baron and then-president 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 140 square miles (360 km²) 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 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 in 1857 and arrived in the Peruvian port of Callao 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.

Throughout the history of Peru, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, a substantial number of German immigrants have settled in other parts of Peru, primarily in Lima. Also, many of these German immigrants have Jewish heritage. A large part of Jewish Peruvians are of German descent.

German Peruvian institutions and associations

• Instituto Superior Tecnologico Privado Peruano
• Colegio Peruano Alemán - Alexander von Humboldt
• Colegio Waldorf Lima
• Asociación Peruano Alemán Leopoldo Krause
• 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
• Cámara de Comercio e Industria Peruano-Alemana
• Archivo de la Inmigración Alemana en el Perú
• Asociación Cultural Johannes Gutenberg
• Asociación Médica Peruana-Alemán
• Beneficencia peruano-alemana / Deutsch-peruanischer Hilfsverein
• Centro Mallqui
• Fundación Brandt
• Humboldt Club del Perú
• Instituto Cultural Peruano Alemán de Arequipa
• Cultural Acupari
• Agro Acción Alemana / Deutsche Welthungerhilfe (DWHH)
• Comisión Brandt
• Instituto Goethe