Stockholm Syndrome Born: Hostages Bond with Captors
Jan-Erik Olsson walked into the Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, on August 23, 1973, fired a submachine gun at the ceiling, and took four bank employees hostage. Over the next six days, something strange happened: the hostages began defending their captors and criticizing the police. Kristin Enmark telephoned Prime Minister Olof Palme to complain that the police were endangering their lives more than the robbers were. After the siege ended with tear gas, the hostages refused to testify against their captors and raised money for their defense. Criminologist Nils Bejerot coined the term "Stockholm Syndrome" to describe this paradoxical bond between captive and captor, a concept that reshaped hostage negotiation protocols worldwide.
August 23, 1973
53 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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