After World War I Germany was only allowed to keep six old pre Dreadnought battleships (plus two on reserve). These were the ships of the Braunschweig and Deutschlandclass. Build between 1904 and 1905, the Braunschweig class was already obsolete during World War I and were decommissioned in 1917, but the lack of available ships forced those veterans of the Battle of Jutland  into service again. They were not able to fight any modern warship of their time and could only be used as coast defense or training ships. In this role, they made intensive voyages to Africa, Middle- and South America between 1926 and 1939.

Most of those ships didn't see action in World War II anymore, since they were replaced by modern units, only the Schleswig Holstein and Schlesien did.

The Braunschweig was broken down in 1931, the Elsass in 1936, the Hessen was replaced by the Admiral Scheer and used as a target ship, the Lothringen was only used as a naval reserve, the Preussen was broken down in 1931 while some parts were used for torpedo and mine tests.