The construction of new D-class cruisers were canceled to make way for "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau". The provisional names of the planned D-class cruisers, "Ersatz Elsass" and "Ersatz Hessen", were reallocated to the new ships, the contracts for which were awarded to the Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven and the Deutsche Werke in Kiel. Construction was held up by 14 months, partly because Hitler wanted to secure the treaty with Britain before work began, and partly due to numerous design changes after the ships had been ordered.