'Germany was pushed into WWII, the Jews controlled all the banks' - Peruvian interim president
Peru’s interim President Jose Maria Balcazar has drawn criticism after suggesting that Jewish people were “partly” responsible for World War II.
Speaking at the 138th anniversary of the Lima Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Balcazar said Germany had been pushed into war partly because Jews “controlled all the banks, all the trade and practised usury.”
The Jewish Association of Peru condemned the remarks, saying they lacked historical rigour and echoed “dark medieval times.” It called on Balcazar to issue a public apology.
The German Embassy in Peru also urged the president to retract the statement, describing it as “absurd” and stressing that “the Holocaust cannot be trivialised under any circumstances.”
Balcazar had not publicly responded to the backlash or issued an apology at the time of publication.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
