José María Balcázar
Peru’s interim president, José María Balcázar, stated that Germany started World War II « partly because of the Jews, » a declaration described as « absurd » and « anti-Semitic » on Wednesday by the embassies of Germany and Israel in Lima.
The statements were made on Tuesday evening during a speech to business leaders marking the 138th anniversary of the Lima Chamber of Commerce, in which Balcázar alluded to the book « The Enemies of Commerce » by Spanish philosopher Antonio Escohotado.
« How is it that Germany was pushed into a war also partly because of the Jews, because they controlled all the banks, all commerce, and practiced usury, » said the Peruvian president.
The embassies of Israel and Germany indicated in a joint statement that the leader’s assertion « is absurd, historically unsustainable, and violates the memory of millions of German Jewish citizens murdered by the Nazis. »
« The Holocaust cannot be trivialized (…) We must reject all forms of anti-Semitism, » and therefore « we hope that President Balcázar will retract his statements, » they added.
The Peruvian presidency regretted on social media that the statements « had generated a mistaken perception of the Jewish people, » but avoided retracting and stressed that the comments « reflect the opinion of the Spanish writer, » who died in 2021.
« The Peruvian State has consistently maintained that Nazi fanaticism was the cause of that war conflagration and is guilty of the unforgivable genocide of the Jewish people, » the presidency stated.
Peru’s Jewish community also repudiated Balcázar’s statements and denounced them as « arguments worthy of the dark medieval times » that blame the victims for their own Holocaust.
President of Peru mentions Hitler after controversial statement about the Jewish people
Lima, Apr 30 (EFE). – Peru’s transitional president, José María Balcázar, mentioned Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust committed during World War II this Thursday, one day after sparking great controversy in his country by stating that Germany « was pushed into a war also partly because of the Jews. »
« Who could imagine that Hitler was unanimously elected by the people in Germany and ended up doing what he did, » the leader commented during a ceremony awarding the Order of Labor at the Government Palace in Lima.
During his speech, Balcázar cited philosopher Hannah Arendt and her concept of the « banality of evil, » which she developed in the book « Eichmann in Jerusalem. »
« She says, for example, that there are circumstances in which man, in his life, can normally have certain egos that lead him to wickedness, but that from this ego, when one has the opportunity to reach the highest power, and everything is done homogeneously, comes the total, perverse homogeneous banality, » he elaborated.
In that context, he argued that this is something « that we have experienced throughout almost all of history and was expressed most prominently in the Holocaust of the Germans. »
« Within these hierarchies, one could not distinguish that the one in command, from Hitler, the highest power, down to the last soldier, all were implicated in war crimes, » he added.
Balcázar also mentioned the philosopher Karl Marx and his theory of surplus value, which according to him, « he called the exploitation of man, » after which « the famous strikes and workers’ struggles began, » and considered that his country lacks « properly adjusting institutions so that the Judicial, Legislative, Executive branches and autonomous bodies work better and better. »
The president mentioned Hitler after having sparked great controversy and rejection in the country this week by stating that Germany « was pushed into a war also partly because of the Jews » because « they controlled all the banks, all commerce, and practiced usury. »
His statement provoked protests from members of the Jewish community, while the Jewish Association of Peru (AJP) expressed its « astonishment » and stated that « it is incredible that in the 21st century, arguments worthy of the dark medieval times are used to blame the victims of their own Holocaust. »
Subsequently, the embassies of Germany and Israel demanded that Balcázar retract his statements and stressed that « anti-Semitism cannot be trivialized under any circumstances. »
Faced with this, the presidency regretted in a statement that his comments had generated « a mistaken perception » of the Jewish people and argued that, in reality, he was reflecting the opinion of the Spanish author Antonio Escohotado, from the book « The Enemies of Commerce. »
Balcázar, 83, is a lawyer, former magistrate, and current congressman who assumed the interim presidency of Peru last February, replacing the right-wing legislator José Jerí, who had himself been appointed by Congress in October 2025 to replace the ousted left-wing leader Dina Boluarte.
(c) Agencia EFE
#José_María_Balcázar #Peru #Holocaust #Hitler #Jews #Second_World_War
