In 1945 the Emharts were still living in Bischofshofen near the railway depot to which Karl Emhart had been transferred back in 1936. As the German government collapsed, and before the liberation forces from the west and east arrived in Austria, Emhart was concerned that pro-Nazi populist gangsters might use the chaos of the times as cover for assassinating prominent socialists including her. That did not happen. While everyone worried over what might happen next she teamed up with a handful of fellow anti-Nazi comrades with whom she had worked before 1936. They now moved into the town hall and made a start on the massive reconstruction task that lay ahead. At the start of May 1945 the war ended formally and the entire Salzburg region was transferred to US military occupation. Maria Emhart was sent home from the town hall by an American officer, with the reassuring explanation that "politics in the community is a matter for the men". Political activity was no longer restricted by law to National Socialist party members, and on 11 May 1945 she joined the SPÖ's provisional leadership team for the entire Salzburg province. She was indeed the only woman working in what was otherwise a group of men. Together they worked on re-establishing the party infrastructure across the province, while Emhart also applied her oratorical skills to delivering numberless speeches on behalf of the newly relaunched party. In the process she also rebuilt her own political profile. In November she was elected an SPÖ member of the . At that time the parliament had just 26 members. 25 of those elected to it on 25 November 1945 were men.