Following the German collapse in November 1918, a significant portion of the High Seas Fleet was interned in Scapa Flow. "Nassau" and her three sisters were not among the ships listed for internment, so they remained at German ports. During this period, from November to December, Hermann Bauer served as the ship's commander. On 21 June 1919, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, under the mistaken impression that the Armistice would expire at noon that day, ordered his ships be scuttled to prevent their seizure by the British. As a result, the four "Nassau"-class ships were ceded to the various Allied powers as replacements for the ships that had been sunk. "Nassau" was awarded to Japan on 7 April 1920, though the Japanese had no need for the ship. They, therefore, sold her in June 1920 to British shipbreakers, who scrapped the ship in Dordrecht.