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Austria Four-Power Occupation and Recognition of the Provisional Government
The four Allied powers had not agreed to any firm plans for
Austria prior to the war's end, and only in early July 1945 were
the borders dividing the country into four occupation zones
finally set. Vienna's city center was placed under Four Power
control, while the rest of the city was divided into specific
occupation zones. Supreme authority in Austria was wielded by the
Allied Council, in which the Four Powers were represented by
their zonal commanders. Each of the four Allies held veto power
over the decisions of the council.
The Allied Council held its first meeting in early September,
but the Western Allies still declined to recognize the Renner
government. Soon thereafter the provisional government held a
meeting in Vienna attended by representatives from parties from
all the occupation zones. Unlike the situation after World War I,
the provinces displayed no separatist tendencies--the experience
of the Anschluss and World War II had forged an appreciation of a
common Austrian identity. The provisional government was expanded
to accommodate national representation, and the representatives
agreed to national elections. Because of these developments, the
Allied Council recognized the provisional government on October
20, 1945.
Data as of December 1993
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