Austria's future in the closing days of World War II was uncertain. The Allies had expected to find a political vacuum. Yet, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, an Austrian provisional government emerged from the postwar rubble within one-month after Allied liberation. This study examines the atmosphere which made possible such a rapid congealing of political forces, the initial formation of the government, the difficulties presented by the Soviets on the one hand and the western powers on the other, and the many factors which enabled the government to overcome these difficulties. The importance of the provisional government has frequently been underestimated. For its success in laying the foundation for viable Austrian independence, it deserves more credit than its achievements as an interim government suggest.