Heinrich Brüning
"Deutschland" was laid down at the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel on 5 February 1929, under the contract name "Panzerschiff A", as a replacement for the old battleship "Preussen". Work began under construction number 219. The ship was launched on 19 May 1931; at her launching, she was christened by German Chancellor Heinrich Brüning. The ship accidentally started sliding down the slipway while Brüning was giving his christening speech. After the completion of fitting out work, initial sea trials began in November 1932. The ship was commissioned into the Reichsmarine on 1 April 1933.