An International University Games (German: Studenten-Weltspiele) was an international multi-sport event held between 20 and 27 August 1939 in Vienna, German Reich (now Vienna, Austria),[1] 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.[2] [3] The National Socialist German Students' League (NSDStB) withdrew from the CIE in May 1939, 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.[4] [5] The International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation stated in 1940, "The results of the Monaco Games were much superior to those of the Vienna Games."[6]
The NSDStB invited many nations to the Vienna games, but most entrants were nations affiliated with the Axis powers.[7] The following countries were reported to have participated in the games:[8]
| 100 Metres | 10.7 | 10.8 | 10.9 | ||||
| 200 Metres | 21.8 | 21.9 | 22.0 | ||||
| 400 Metres | 48.0 | 48.3 | 48.5 | ||||
| 800 Metres | 1:53.9 | 1:54.4 | 1:55.3 | ||||
| 1500 Metres | 3:57.2 | 3:58.4 | 3:59.6 | ||||
| 5000 Metres | 15:10.6 | 15:10.8 | 15:28.6 | ||||
| 110 Metres Hurdles | 15.1 | 15.3 | 15.4 | ||||
| 400 Metres Hurdles | 54.0 | 54.5 | 56.0 | ||||
| 4 x 100 Metres Relay |  Germany "A"Fritz Müller Harald Mellerowicz Siegfried Schmitt Günter Köster | 41.8 |  Italy "A"Tullio Gonnelli Amelio Monacci Gianvittorio Schulteschi Ernesto Bianchi | 42.1 |  HungaryJózsef Sir Ferenc Szigetvári László Ember József Góby | 42.6 | |
| 4 x 400 Metres Relay | Germany "A" Karl Rinck Hans Helm Cuno Wieland Gerhard Rose | 3:15.8 | Italy "A" Gioacchino Dorascenzi Ottavio Missoni Aldo Ferassutti Angelo Lualdi | 3:17.2 | Hungary József Vadas János Görkói György Sándor Jenõ Polgár | 3:17.4 | |
| 10 x 200 Metres Relay | Germany | 3:38.3 | Italy Ottavio Missoni Tullio Gonnelli Leo Craighero Amelio Monacci Gianvittorio Schulteschi Ernesto Bianchi Aldo Ferassutti Bruno Mainardi Giovanni Scolari Adriano Ambrosioni | 3:39.2 | Hungary György Sándor László Ember Ferenc Szigetvári József Sir Jenõ Polgár József Vadas Vilmos Vermes József Góby László Gábor János Görkói | 3:43.2 | |
| High Jump | 1.90 | 1.85 | 1.85 | ||||
| Pole Vault | 4.10 | 3.90 | 3.90 | ||||
| Long Jump | 7.09 | 7.03 | 7.01 | ||||
| Triple Jump | [9] | 15.37 | 14.73 | 14.72 | |||
| Shot | 16.33 | 16.26 | 14.79 | ||||
| Discus | 48.21 | 47.45 | 46.11 | ||||
| Hammer | 53.54 | 49.21 | 48.85 | ||||
| Javelin | 67.37 | 67.29 | 66.79 | ||||
| Pentathlon | 3867 | 3273 | 3225 |
| 100 Metres | 12.4 | 12.6 | [10] | 13.0 | |||
| 200 Metres | 25.4 | 26.6 | 26.6 | ||||
| 80 Metres Hurdles | 11.7 | 12.0 | 12.1 | ||||
| 4 x 100 Metres Relay | Germany "A" Siegfriede Dempe Ritagret Wendel Langerbeck Erika Biess | 49.0 | Germany "B" | 50.5 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| High Jump | 1.50[11] | [12] | 1.50 | 1.50 | |||
| Long Jump | 5.21 | 5.19 | 4.90 | ||||
| Shot | 12.44 | 12.43 | Unknown | Unknown | |||
| Discus | 37.43 | 36.51 | 35.07 | ||||
| Javelin | 41.15 | 38.52 | 37.60 |
Military sports were held at the games, reflecting the militarism of Nazi and fascist states.[13] Other sports included tennis, boxing, field hockey (Germany beat two Italian teams[14]), basketball, swimming, handball, association football, rugby, rowing, fencing, gliding, and water polo (won by Hungary[15]).[16]