The history of persecution and discrimination against Sinti*zze und Rom*nja on present-day German territory began as early as the 15th century but was first systematized and coordinated on a nationwide basis after the founding of the German Empire. During the Weimar Republic, Sinti*zze und Rom*nja were increasingly subjected to police and official persecution. Bavaria and Hesse enacted laws compelling German Sinti to enter "workhouses" and forcing their children into homes, while foreign and stateless Roma could be deported. In 1927, Prussia ordered the fingerprinting of all Sintizze and Romnja from the age of 6, regardless of having committed a crime. Many of those affected either evaded registration or covertly retrieved their children from the homes.