There Stockholm syndrome It is an expression used to describe the development of positive feelings by the hostages towards theirs kidnappers during episodes of kidnapping. The term was born following the robbery at the Kreditbank of Stockholm of 1973, during which four hostages passed six days locked up with their robbers, arriving to establish a friendship relationship and to refuse the police intervention. Although other similar cases have been documented over the years, Stockholm syndrome remains an expression used mainly in the journalistic field, having never been formally recognized by the scientific community.
The beginning of the facts: the robbery at the Kreditbank in Stockholm
There Stockholm syndrome originated from a promise between two Swedish criminals: the thirty-two-year-old Jan-Erik Olsson and his cellmate, the twenty-six-year-old Clark Olofsson. During their detention, a relationship of deep admirationsuch as to push Jan to promise to his friend who, one day, would have helped him to prison. When in 1973 Jan managed to obtain a period of permission from prison, he thought it was the perfect occasion to keep that promise.
On August 23, at 10:00 in the morning, he entered masked inside of the Kreditbank of Stockholm And, with calm, he extracted a gun, shooting the ceiling. The man’s plan, however, was not limited to one simple robbery. Shortly thereafter Four employees took hostage And he barricaded himself with them in the bank’s armored chamber. The case, renamed by the media as “Drama of Normalmstorg“, quickly acquired a national resonance, to the point of requiring The intervention of the Swedish governmentwhich started the negotiations so that the hostages were released and avoid an announced tragedy. Jan’s requests were unquestionable: Clark should have been freed from prison of Norrköping to reach it in the bank, together with three million Swedish crowns, two pistols, two bulletproof jackets, helmets and a Ford Mustang. Incredibly, the then Minister of Swedish justice he accepted to the release of Clarkwhich at 16:00 on the same day was accompanied to the bank, joining Jan and hostages. The promise had been kept.
During the robbery, the hostages begin to sympathize with the two robbers
Jan, Clark and the four hostages they spent 6 days togetherfrom 23 August to 28 August 1973, locked up inside the armored chamber. From the beginning, the two criminals Gentile and caring were shown With their prisoners, allowing them even to go out to go to the bathroom, located outside the Caveau, running the risk of a possible escape. Incredibly, however, the hostages always returned back. According to the stories of the prisoners, in fact, among the cohabitants they settled strong human ties who convinced the victims to welcome the imprisonmentrefusing the help of the police who, in an incessant way and with often risky methods for the safety of the hostages themselves, tried to convince the two men to the surrender. Thanks to complicity of the hostagesevery attempt proved to the point that, according to some testimonies, one of them ended up screaming the police: “This is now our world and whoever threatens it will be our enemy! » Birgitta Lundblad, one of the kidnapped, even said he had a short sentimental relationship with Jan.
On the sixth day, the peaceful coexistence was interrupted Brutally: on August 28, the police trapped the roof of the armored chamber by throwing toxic gas inside, forcing the two Round robbers. However, the new arrest of Jan and Clark does not interrupt friendship With the four hostages, which in the following years continued to attend robbers through prison visits, categorically refusing to testify against them in court.
But what was the Destiny of Jan and Clark? Both are still alive and have served their penalties. Once released, Jan got married and moved to Thailand with his family, where he lived for 15 years by managing a supermarket, and then returned to Sweden in 2013. Today he is 86 years old and declares that, despite everything, his was one good life.
The birth of Stockholm syndrome: what does science say?
In the days following the incident, the local media reported the expression “Syndrome in Piazza Normalm” – from the name of the square where the bank was located – coined by the criminologist Nils Bojerot to describe the unusual behavior exhibited by the hostages against the robbers. Outside of Sweden, the expression was renamed”Stockholm syndrome“And since then it has been used to indicate the numerous documented cases in which victims have developed positive feelings – instead of fear and contempt – towards the robbers and sympathy for their causesin some cases to join them by refusing the help of the authorities.
But how do you explain such an unusual behavior? According to some mental health experts, it would be a survival strategy. During a kidnapping, the victims, sympathizing and forming positive ties with the torturers e sharing the objectivesthey hope to get their benevolence limiting aggressive or violent behavior towards themmaking the situation – perceived as extremely stressful – more tolerable.
Although the expression has returned to our common language thanks to the diffusion of the media, it is nevertheless mandatory to make a clarification: the Stockholm syndrome It has never been officially recognized by the scientific community And, to date, there is no corpus of scientific studies solid that defines its existence. For this reason, It was not officially included in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM), in which all psychiatric disorders recognized by the international scientific community are classified and described.
