When did German naval expansion resume after World War I?

When did the German Navy begin expanding again after World War I?

Around 1936, roughly eighteen years after the war, although Germany still lacked the restored industrial base needed for rapid capital-ship construction or guns larger than eleven inches.

The decision to expand the navy preceded the industrial recovery needed to deliver a balanced fleet. Germany still possessed naval expertise, but Versailles-era restrictions had stripped away yards, heavy-gun facilities, and supporting infrastructure. Some industrial capacity also lay in territories that were no longer part of Germany after the postwar settlement. This helps explain why Scharnhorst and Gneisenau initially received eleven-inch guns: the larger armament industry was not ready. Expansion could therefore begin on paper and in the slipways well before the production system had recovered.