Starting from the 1950s, Schwab was allowed to return to West Germany, with his first post being guest professor at the Technical University of Darmstadt (1949) before he was appointed to the illustrious Professorship of Physical Chemistry at the University of Munich in 1950. While holding the corresponding seat in Athens, Schwab continued visiting Greece to offer lectures on his course.
Meanwhile, he engaged in notable novel research regarding surface catalytic interactions. In the 1955–1956 academic year he was Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Munich. He retired in 1967 with the title of Emeritus Professor of Physical Chemistry, which he held until his death in 1984.