What is Stockholm syndrome? It all started with a bank robbery 50 years ago
This week marks 50 years since a failed bank robbery that gave rise to Stockholm syndrome, a term used to describe the bond that victims of kidnappings or hostage situations sometimes develop with their captors
By KARL RITTER and JAN M. OLSEN
Published - Aug 25, 2023, 12:55 AM ET
Last Updated - Aug 25, 2023, 12:55 AM EDT
STOCKHOLM (AP) — It's a common term these days, deployed to describe the bond that victims of kidnappings or hostage situations sometimes develop with their captors: “Stockholm syndrome.” And it got its name 50 years ago this week, during a failed bank robbery in Sweden's capital.
Stockholm syndrome — dubbed by its founder “Norrmalmstorg syndrome,” after the square where the bank heist took place — has since been used in connection with hostage-takings around the world, including the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in the 1970s.
Here’s a look at Stockholm syndrome and how it got its name.
