An International University Games (German: Studenten-Weltspiele) was held in Vienna, Austria on 20–27 August 1939, 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. The National Socialist German Students' League (NSDStB) withdrew from the CIE in May 1939, and the CIE at short notice moved 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. The NSDStB invited many nations to the Vienna games, but entrants were mostly from fascist associations in Axis powers. The following countries were reported to have participated in the games: Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Kingdom of Italy, Empire of Japan, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Peru, Sweden, Slovak Republic, Spanish State, Union of South Africa, Kingdom of Hungary, German Reich. The International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation said in 1940, "The results of the Monaco Games were much superior to those of the Vienna Games."
Other sports
Military sports were held at the games, reflecting the militarism of Nazi and fascist states. Other sports included tennis, boxing, field hockey (Germany beat two Italian teams), basketball, swimming, handball, association football, rugby, rowing, fencing, gliding, and water polo (won by Hungary).