1939 International University Games (Vienna)

An International University Games (German: Studenten-Weltspiele[1]) was an international multi-sport event held between 20 and 27 August 1939 in Vienna, German Reich (now Vienna, Austria),[1][2] which had originally been scheduled as the official 1939 staging of the Summer International University Games awarded to Vienna by the Confederation Internationale des Etudiants (CIE) in January 1938, prior to Austria's absorption into Nazi Germany by the Anschluss.

[3][4] The National Socialist German Students' League (NSDStB) withdrew from the CIE in May 1939,[3] and the CIE at short notice moved its version of the 1939 International University Games to Monte Carlo.

The formal opening was by Bernhard Rust, the Reich Minister of Science, Education and Culture, on 20 August in the Prater Stadium, the main venue of the games.

[3][8] The following countries were reported to have participated in the games:[9] Military sports were held at the games, reflecting the militarism of Nazi and fascist states.

[10] Other sports included tennis, boxing, field hockey (Germany beat two Italian teams[11]), basketball, swimming, handball, association football, rugby, rowing, fencing, gliding, and water polo (won by Hungary[12]).