German Peruvians

German Peruvians are Peruvian 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, or to someone who has immigrated to Peru from German-speaking countries. Since independence, Germans had been immigrating to Lima on a small scale, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, a number of German immigrants have settled in other parts of Peru, primarily in Lima. Also, many of these German immigrants have Jewish heritage. 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, 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 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 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.