1955 is significant, not just for the Republic of Austria. On May 15, foreign secretary Leopold Figl stands on the balcony of Belvedere Castle and makes an announcement that is to be remembered for decades: “Austria is free!” The State Treaty has more than political significance, however. Signing the treaty means that the “German asset” is in part returned to its original owners. That said, operations that exceed a specified value become the property of the Republic. Rotax-Werk AG exceeded this limit when it was relocated to Austria as a subsidiary of Fichtel & Sachs AG.  Since its stock capital totals 12 million Schillings, the company becomes the property of the new Republic. Although owned by the state, strictly speaking, Rotax is not a nationalized enterprise. The Gunskirchen enterprise is one of the assets transferred to the Republic of Austria by the State Treaty and is subject to the provisions of the First Restraint of Competition State Treaty Implementation Act of July 25, 1956. Nothing changes in terms of the company’s operational management. Dr. Theodor A. Ebster, initially appointed at the end of the war, continues to combine act both as Management Board and Supervisory Board and leads the newly Austrian engine manufacturer into the age of the economic miracle.