Barkhorn was released as a prisoner of war on 3 September 1945. He then returned to Tegernsee to be reunited with his family. There, he was also joined by his mother who had managed to escape from Königsberg. In October, Barkhorn first employment as an auxiliary worker was with Linhof, a manufacturer of cameras, based in Munich. A year later, he found employment in Grünwald. His employment in Grünwald ended in 1949. Following a brief period of unemployment, he took a course at Volkswagen in November 1949. In December, he was hired by "Auto Junk", a Volkswagen dealership in Trier, at first as head of technical field services. Four years later, Barkhorn was promoted to head of facility and service management.