Why the Deutschland class were cruisers, not capital ships

Were the 8,000-ton Deutschland-class 'pocket battleships' normally considered capital ships?

No. They were powerful heavy cruisers; their 11-inch guns and nickname did not outweigh their cruiser-scale displacement, speed, and overall characteristics.

The answer classifies the Deutschland class by displacement, armament, speed, and contemporary treaty categories rather than by its dramatic nickname. The Washington Naval Treaty treated ships up to 10,000 tons as cruisers, and the class's roughly 8,000-ton scale sat inside that framework. Six 11-inch guns made the ships unusually powerful cruisers, but contemporary capital ships began around 14-inch armament and were moving toward 15- and 16-inch guns. A 5,000-ton ship belonged in light-cruiser territory. Comparisons with monitors and purpose-built coastal-defence ships show why carrying a battleship-calibre weapon does not by itself determine a vessel's class.