Norrmalmstorg robbery

The former Kreditbanken building at Norrmalmstorg 2005.

The Norrmalmstorg robbery was a bank robbery and hostage crisis best known as the origin of the term Stockholm syndrome. It occurred at the Norrmalmstorg square in Stockholm, Sweden in 1973. It was the first criminal event in Sweden covered by live television.

Events

The four hostages in the Kreditbanken robbery sympathized with their captor (not in the picture, the man to the right is Olofsson).

On August 23, 1973, Jan Erik Olsson, on leave from prison, walked into Kreditbanken (now part of Nordea) at Norrmalmstorg, central Stockholm and attempted to hold up the bank.^[1] Swedish police were called in immediately, two of them went inside, and Olsson opened fire, injuring one policeman. The other was ordered to sit in a chair and "sing something". He started singing "Lonesome Cowboy". Olsson then took four people as hostages. He demanded his friend Clark Olofsson to be brought there, along with 3 million Swedish Kronor ($730,000 US 1973 value),^[1] two guns, bullet-proof vests, helmets and a fast car. Olofsson was a repeat offender who had committed several armed robberies and acts of violence, the first committed at the age of 16.

Olofsson was brought in by permission of the government and established a communication link with the police negotiators. One of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, said she felt safe with Olsson and Olofsson but feared the police might escalate the situation by using violent methods. Olsson and Olofsson barricaded the inner main vault in which they kept the hostages. Negotiators agreed that they could have a car to escape, but would not allow them to take hostages with them if they tried to leave.

Olsson called up the Prime Minister Olof Palme and said he would kill the hostages, backing up his threat by grabbing one in a stranglehold; she was heard screaming as he hung up. The next day Olof Palme received another call. This time it was Kristin Enmark who said she was very displeased with his attitude, asking him to let the robbers and the hostages leave.

Olofsson walked around in the vault singing Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly".

The drama went on. On August 26, the police drilled a hole into the main vault from the apartment above. From this hole, a widely circulated picture of the hostages with Olofsson was taken. Olofsson also fired his weapon into this hole on two occasions, and during the latter attempt he wounded a police officer in the hand and face.

Olsson fired his weapon and threatened to kill the hostages if any gas attack was attempted. On August 28 the gas was used anyway, and after half an hour Olsson and Olofsson surrendered. None of the hostages sustained permanent injuries.

After the robbery

At trial, Jan Erik Olsson was sentenced to ten years imprisonment of which he served eight. Clark Olofsson was sentenced to 6½ years in prison for having sided with Olsson. The Court of Appeal however acquitted Clark completely.

Both Olsson and Olofsson were charged, convicted and sentenced to extended prison terms for the robbery. However, Olofsson claimed he did not help Olsson and was only trying to save the hostages by keeping the situation calm. At the court of appeal his convictions were quashed. He later met hostage Kristin Enmark several times, their families becoming friends. He later committed further crimes.

Olsson was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He received many admiring letters from women who found him attractive. He later became engaged to one of them. This was not, as some state, one of the former hostages. After his release, he appears to have carried on with unlawful activities. After having been on the run from Swedish authorities for ten years for alleged financial crimes, he turned himself in to police in 2006 — only to be told that the charges were no longer being actively pursued.^[2]

The hostages still repeatedly claim they were more frightened of the police than the robbers during their six days of confinement. They clearly sympathized with their captors, which has led to academic interest in the matter. The term "Stockholm syndrome" was coined by criminologist Nils Bejerot. The actions of the police and other government officials, along with the lack of any threatening behaviour by Olofsson, casts doubt on the legitimacy of the "Stockholm syndrome" theory. The hostages, although threatened by Olsson never became violent toward the police or each other. They did not identify with or join the cause of their captors. They were merely upset at the reckless attempts by the police to resolve the situation quickly, and some did testify on behalf of Olofsson because they witnessed no evidence of his guilt or complicity in the crime. It has been speculated^{[by whom?]} that the Kreditbanken held the payroll account of the police and that it was payday.

Since 1996 Jan Erik Olsson has lived in northeastern Thailand with his Thai wife and son. Olsson's autobiography Stockholms-syndromet was published in Sweden in 2009.

Myths of the Norrmalmstorg robbery

The most widely publicized myth about the robbery, or rather about the Stockholm syndrome, was that one or both robbers became engaged to their captives. This is not true, and may stem from a false friend in the phrase "att engagera sig i någon". In Swedish this means "taking interest in someone". It does not mean "to become engaged to someone" (which would be "att förlova sig med någon").

Influences

• Apart from creating the term "Stockholm syndrome", the robbery has inspired a feature film by Håkan Lindhé named Norrmalmstorg aired on Swedish television on August 29, 2003.^[3]

• Songwriter Derek Webb and Swedish rock band Backyard Babies have albums called Stockholm Syndrome.

• British rock band Muse and American rock band Blink-182 both have songs entitled "Stockholm Syndrome", the former on the album Absolution and the latter on its self-titled album. The American band Yo La Tengo also has a song of the same name on its album I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One.

• A short fictionalized story by Joe Meno, entitled "Stockholm 1973", chronicles these events. It was published in Issue 24 of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.

See also

• List of hostage crises

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Norrmalmstorgsdramat" (in Swedish). Nationalencyklopedin. http://www.ne.se/norrmalmstorgsdramat. Retrieved 30 October 2010.  (subscription required)
2. ^ Sherwood, Jody (5 May 2006). "'Stockholm Syndrome' robber turned away by police". The Local. http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=3733&date=20060505&PHPSESSID=05a719dcda4a58c908a1e8993b46c51c. Retrieved 30 October 2010. 
3. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323434/

External links

• Video of live television coverage of Norrmalmstorg robbery (Swedish language)
• Police photo of hostages and captor of Norrmalmstorg r obbery]
• Nils Bejerot: The six day war in Stockholm, New Scientist, 1974
• 'Inhuman beast' finds his peace, Bangkok Post - Jan-Erik 'Janne' Olsson now living in the northeast of Thailand
• Translated extract from Olsson's autobiography