[Norwegian front fighters 1940-1945, 50 years later. Experiences, strains, medical and social conditions].

The author describes a medical and social investigation of 181 Norwegian war veterans who served on the Eastern Front during World War II. To ensure representativity, special emphasis is placed on 76 Norwegians in 1st Company, Regiment Norge, as listed in January 1944. They have been interviewed about hardships during war service in the civil war in Spain and until spring 1945, during captivity in Russia, in other Allied forces' camps and in Norwegian camps and prisons after the war. Their medical and social status from 1940 until today has been studied. The "front fighters" are a heavily strained group. This is best illustrated by their death rates during the war and in the first years after the war. However, as a group, they have more resources than the general population, and have done comparatively well since the war, in spite of physical and social handicaps.