Gneisenau remained unused in Gotenhafen until the end of the war. As the Red Army advanced on the city, the remaining crew took the ship out to the entrance of the harbor and sank the vessel as a blockship on 27 March 1945.
In 1947, the Polish government ordered the ship be removed, and initial salvage operations began.
The ship was sealed and refloated on 12 September 1951 then completely scrapped. She was the largest ship raised at the time. Norway offered to return the turret in Trondheim in 1979, though the offer was rejected.] The gun turret was instead preserved as a museum in Norway.
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