The Stockholm Syndrome

"Because that's where the money is!"

• Willie Sutton - when asked why he robbed banks (apocryphal)

After tall willowy blondes, and massage, it may be the most likely thought to come to mind when you think of Sweden, and the first when you think of Stockholm.¹

From 23-28 August 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson, held four employees hostage after a failed bank robbery of Kreditbanken, one of the largest banks in Stockholm. Subsequently, Nils Bejerot, a Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist, invented the eponymous term. It described the hostages' reactions as a result of being brainwashed by their captors. He called it Norrmalmstorgssyndromet (after Norrmalmstorg Square where the attempted robbery took place), meaning "The Norrmalm Square syndrome"; it later became known outside Sweden as the "Stockholm syndrome."

The basic idea is that after being held hostage, hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors as a deep emotional connection can form between captors and captives, during their shall we say, intimate time together. In the end the hostages can wind up siding with their captors against the police.

Before I visited Stockholm I must have heard the term a hundred times, occasionally in the news, and in print (Patty Hearst), but even more on tv or the movies (Three Days of the Condor, Dog Day Afternoon, Out of Sight, etc.). And I always assumed it was legitimate, likely even a medical condition. Well . . . it is not.

According to the FBI, only 5-8% of kidnapping victims show signs of Stockholm syndrome, with a survey finding not a single case when emotional involvement between the victim and the kidnapper interfered with or jeopardized an assault.

The American Psychiatric Association does not recognize it though it may fall under under trauma bonding or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Either way there is no consensus about it or an extensive body of research.²

The Kreditbanken: Then & Now

The bank has subsequently become the Nobis Hotel and includes a rather trendy bar called The Gold Bar. So in search of further knowledge about those six days in August, Mrs. WitFoH and I had a drink there. Since I had yet to have that Swedish tourist right of passage called aquavit, I decided to go with a Swedish boilermaker (a glass of beer and a shot of aquavit).

At the end of the bar sat Rendy, a professional model, who had just visited the Acne Studios retail space located in the hotel to purchase a $360 t-shirt. It is situated in the exact spot where the hold up occurred and hostages kept. When I mentioned its connection to the Stockholm Syndrome, he mentioned that if we visited we should mention his name to Andreas the manager. I then seem to remember that Mrs. WitFoH previosly mentioning that I could have a career in modeling, so we had the paparazzi take a photo and we'll see what comes of it.

My Paisan Twin

After the above photo was taken (and paparazzi slipped), I made my way over to Acne Studios (a Stockholm-based luxury fashion house) as I wanted to see for myself what a $360 t-shirt looked like (a $10 t-shirt with $350 sown into it?). Then after dropping my colleague Rendy's name, Andreas and I chatted in the back room where much of the action had occurred. The space was relatively unchanged, as the original Roman columns, high ceilings and marble floors really compliment the whole Acme Studios design aesthetic. Supposedly there were holes drilled in the ceiling to allow the polis to spy on the bad guys, but he wasn't aware if they actually existed or their location.

Acne Studios

From personal experience I can certainly understand how people may think the Stockholm syndrome is a valid medical or criminological disorder:

When I used to work for SeaRiver Maritime (a wholly owned subsidiary of ExxonMobil), I frequently dealt with overseas affiliates like Mobil Oil Nigeria Ltd. ExxonMobil had seconded various employees into management positions withing this company, but these ExxonMobil employees then refused to fully share important details like production schedules, outages and maintenance issues. I have a distinct memory of a vital Nigerian pipeline being destroyed by the Niger Delta Avengers and hearing about from some guy I knew at BP. ³

When I shared my concerns, with a colleague who used to work in Nigeria, that ExxonMobil employees based in Nigeria were not forthcoming with important information that could allow for the more efficient loading of crude oil on tankers and more importantly reduced opex, he replied rather casually, "It's a case of Stockholm syndrome."

24 August 1973

Aug 22, 2025⁴

Footnotes:

¹ Though perhaps the most historical event ever to have happened in Stockholm is the sinking of, at the time the largest ship in world, the Vasa after sailing roughly 1,300 m into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. See this link for all the details.

² According to later interviews with the hostages, much of this "bond" had more to do with anger at police ineptitude and less with any empathy with their captor.

³ Either an African splinter of the Marvel superhero team or a terrorist organization based out of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

⁴ Yes, I serendipitously visited a day before the 42 anniversary.

"A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns."

• Mario Puzo, The Godfather

Police officers outside the bank, August 1973

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