Identification of Missing Norwegian World War II Soldiers, in Karelia Russia1. Issue 4 (24th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Morild, Inge; Hamre, Stian S.; Huel, Rene; Parsons, Thomas J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of forensic sciences. Volume 60:Issue 4(2015)
• Page Start: 1104
• Page End: 1110
• Publication Date: 2015-03-24
• Subjects: Medical jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Forensic sciences -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Gerechtelijke geneeskunde; Gerechtelijke chemie; Gerechtelijke psychiatrie; 363.2505
• DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.12767
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1198

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="jfo12767-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>This article presents the multidisciplinary effort in trying to identify the skeletal remains of 100 Norwegian soldiers serving in the German army, killed in Karelia Russia in 1944, from the recovery of the remains through the final identification using DNA. Of the 150 bone samples sent for DNA testing, 93 DNA profiles were obtained relating to 57 unique individuals. The relatives could not be directly contacted as the soldiers were considered as traitors to Norway; therefore, only 45 reference samples, relating to 42 cases of the missing, were donated. DNA matches for 14 soldiers and 12 additional body part re‐associations for these individuals were found. Another 24 bone samples were re‐associated with 16 individuals, but no familial match was found. More than six decades after the end of WWII, DNA analysis can significantly contribute to the identification of the remains.</p> </abstract>