Norrmalmstorg robbery: Difference between revisions

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{{shortShort description|1973 bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}

[[File:Former Kreditbanken Norrmalmstorg Stockholm Sweden.jpg|thumb|300px|The former [[Kreditbanken]] building at [[Norrmalmstorg]] 2005.]]

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = Norrmalmstorg robbery

| partof =

| image = Former Kreditbanken Norrmalmstorg Stockholm Sweden.jpg

[[File:Former| Kreditbankencaption Norrmalmstorg Stockholm Sweden.jpg|thumb|300px|The = Front view of the former [[Kreditbanken]] building at [[Norrmalmstorg]] in 2005.]]

| ___location = [[Norrmalmstorg]], [[Stockholm]], Sweden

| coordinates = {{coordCoord|59.3332|18.0740|type:landmark_region:SE-AB|display=title,inline}}

| date = 23–28 August 1973

| time =

| timezone =

| type = [[Bank robbery]], [[hostage taking]]

| fatalities =

| injuries = 2

| perps = [[Jan-Erik Olsson]] and [[Clark Olofsson]]

| weapons = Various

}}

The '''Norrmalmstorg robbery''' was a bank robbery and hostage crisis that occurred at the [[Norrmalmstorg]] Square in [[Stockholm]], Sweden, in August 1973 and was the first crime in Sweden to be covered by live television. It is best known as the origin of the term ''[[Stockholm syndrome]]''.<ref name="40-ar-sedan"/>

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 August 1973 and was the first criminal event in Sweden to be covered by live television.<ref name="40-ar-sedan"/> [[Jan-Erik Olsson]] was a convicted criminal who had disappeared while on furlough from prison and then held up a bank and took four hostages. During the ensuing negotiations, Swedish Minister of Justice [[Lennart Geijer]] allowed Olsson's former cellmate and friend [[Clark Olofsson]] to be brought from prison to the bank. Although Olofsson was a long-time career criminal, it is doubtful he was in league with Olsson.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/?id=WgtzDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT38&lpg=PT38&dq=Lennart+Geijer+%26+Norrmalmstorg#v=onepage&q=Lennart%20Geijer%20%26%20Norrmalmstorg&f=false |title = Dramat på Norrmalmstorg: 23 till 28 augusti 1973|isbn = 9789100169350|last1 = Svensson|first1 = Per|date = 2016-11-07}}</ref> Famously, the hostages then bonded with their captors and acted to protect them despite their repeated threats to kill them all. Police finally mounted a tear gas attack five days into the crisis, and the robbers surrendered. Olsson was sentenced to 10 years for the robbery, and Olofsson was ultimately acquitted. The paradoxical actions of the hostages led to a great deal of academic and public interest in the case, including a 2003 Swedish television film, a [[Stockholm (2018 film)|2018 Canadian film]] and a Swedish Netflix television series premiering in 2021.

<ref>https://about.netflix.com/en/news/bill-skarsgard-plays-clark-olofsson-in-new-swedish-netflix-original-directed-by-jonas-akerlund</ref>

[[Jan-Erik Olsson]] was a convicted criminal who had disappeared while on [[Prison furlough|furlough from prison]] and then held up the [[Kreditbanken]] bank, taking four hostages in the process. During the negotiations that followed, Swedish Minister of Justice [[Lennart Geijer]] allowed Olsson's former cellmate and friend [[Clark Olofsson]] to be brought from prison to the bank. Although Olofsson was a long-time career criminal, it was deemed unlikely that he was in league with Olsson.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WgtzDQAAQBAJ&q=Lennart+Geijer+%26+Norrmalmstorg&pg=PT38 |title = Dramat på Norrmalmstorg: 23 till 28 augusti 1973|isbn = 978-9100169350|last1 = Svensson|first1 = Per|date = 2016| publisher=Albert Bonniers Förlag }}</ref> In the popular account, the hostages then bonded with their captors and refused to cooperate with police. However, it has also been argued that the hostages were simply distrustful of the police given the latter's willingness to risk the hostages' safety.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hill|first=Jess|title=See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse|publisher=Black Inc.|year=2019|isbn=978-1760641405|oclc=1246246503|___location=Melbourne}}</ref> Police finally mounted a tear-gas attack five days into the crisis, and the robbers surrendered.

Olsson was sentenced to 10 years for the robbery, and Olofsson was ultimately acquitted. The counter-intuitive actions of the hostages led to a great deal of academic and public interest in the case, including a 2003 Swedish television film titled ''Norrmalmstorg'', a 2018 Canadian film titled ''[[Stockholm (2018 film)|Stockholm]]'' and a 2022 Swedish Netflix television series ''[[Clark (TV series)|Clark]]''.<ref name=netflix>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/swedish-crime-drama-series-clark-on-netflix-everything-we-know-so-far|title=Swedish Crime-Drama Series 'Clark' on Netflix: Everything We Know So Far|date=14 December 2021|website=Netflix}}</ref>

== Events ==

[[Jan-Erik Olsson]] was on leave from prison on 23 August 1973, when he went into [[Kreditbanken]] aton [[Norrmalmstorg]], [[Stockholm]], and attempted to rob it.<ref name="ne">{{cite encyclopedia |title = Norrmalmstorgsdramat|encyclopedia = [[Nationalencyklopedin]]|language = sv|url = http://www.ne.se/norrmalmstorgsdramat|accessdate = 30 October 2010|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://trevl.eu/norrmalmstorg-robbery-which-defined-the-stockholm-syndrome/|title=Norrmalmstorg Robbery Which Defined the Stockholm Syndrome|date=2018-10-31|website=Trevl - Discover Places To Visit In Stockholm|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-06-07}}</ref> [[Swedish police]] were notified shortly after and enteredarrived on the bankscene. One officer, Ingemar Warpefeldt, suffered injuries to his hand after Olsson opened fire,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url = http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/9905/02/clark.html|title = Rånarens krav: släpp Clark fri|last = Karlsson|first = Jan|date = 2 May 1999|work = [[Aftonbladet]]|access-date = 16 June 2015|language = sv|trans-title = The robbers demand: set Clark free|page = 17}}</ref> while another was ordered to sit in a chair and sing a song.<ref name=":0"/> Olsson then took four peoplebank employees hostage: Birgitta Lundblad, Elisabeth Oldgren, Kristin Enmark, and Sven Säfström.<ref name="the-bank-drama"/> He demanded his friend [[Clark Olofsson]] be brought there,<ref>{{cite news |title=Stockholm Police Lock Gunman, Others in a Vault |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/26/archives/stockholm-police-lock-gunman-others-in-a-vault.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |issue=42218|volume=122 |date=26 August 1973}}</ref> along with three million [[Swedish kronor]], two guns, bulletproof vests, helmets and a car[[Ford Mustang]].<ref name=ne /><ref>Serena, name="Katie. [https://allthatsinteresting.com/stockholm-syndrome Stockholm Syndrome And The Strange Bank Robbery Behind It] ''All That’s Interesting'', 19 February 2018, updated 1" May 2019.</ref>

Olsson was initially misidentified as Kaj Hansson,<ref>{{cite news |title=Swedish Robber Holds Hostages 2d Day |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=24 August 1973|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/25/archives/swedish-robber-holds-hostages-2d-day.html }}</ref> another escaped prisoner, and someone who specialized in bank robberies.<ref name="the-bank-drama">{{cite magazine |last= Lang|first= Daniel|date= 18 November 1974|title= The Bank Drama|magazine= [[The New Yorker]]|url= https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/11/25/the-bank-drama|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221023020818/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/11/25/the-bank-drama|archive-date= 23 October 2022}}</ref> Olsson was a repeat offender who had committed several armed robberies and acts of violence, the first when he had beenwas 16.<ref name="40-ar-sedan">[http{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter/inrikes/40-ar-sedan-dramat-vid-norrmalmstorg/ 40 år sedan Norrmalmstorgs dramat] {{webarchive |urlarchiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701071332/http://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter/inrikes/40-ar-sedan-dramat-vid-norrmalmstorg/|url-status=dead|title=40 år sedan dramat vid Norrmalmstorg|datearchivedate=1 July 2015|website=[[Expressen]]}}</ref>

The government gave permission for Olofsson to be brought as a communication link with the police negotiators. The hostage Kristin Enmark said that she felt safe with Olsson and Olofsson but feared that the police might escalate the situation by using violent methods.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/news/stockholm-syndrome|title=The Birth of "Stockholm Syndrome," 40 Years Ago -– History in the Headlines|date=23 August 2013 |access-date=14 August 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nilsbejerot.se/sexdagar.pdf |title=Nils Bejerot: Strategin i sexdagarskriget vid Norrmalmstorg |accessdate=2019-08-05 |archive-date=2016-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418131500/http://www.nilsbejerot.se/sexdagar.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Olsson called [[Swedish Prime Minister]] [[Olof Palme]], and said that he would kill the hostages and backed up his threat by grabbing one of them in a stranglehold. She was heard screaming as he hung up.<ref name=":0"/> The next day, the hostage Kristin Enmark called Palme, and said that she was very displeased with his attitude and asked him to let the robbers and the hostages leave.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{cite web|website= [[Sveriges Radio]]|language=sv |title= Lyssna på Kristin Enmark prata med Olof Palme under gisslandramat|trans-title= Listen to Kristin Enmark talk to Olof Palme during the hostage drama|date= 5 October 2015|url= https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6270898}}</ref>

Olofsson walked around the vault and sang [[Roberta Flack]]'s "[[Killing Me Softly with His Song|Killing Me Softly]]".<ref name=":0"/> On August 26 August, the police drilled a hole into the main vault from the apartment above and took a widely- circulated photograph of the hostages with Olofsson.<ref>{{cite Also,magazine Olofsson| url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/11/25/the-bank-drama | title=The Origins of Stockholm Syndrome | magazine=The New Yorker | date=18 November 1974 | last1=Lang | first1=Daniel }}</ref> Olsson fired his weapon into the hole on two occasions and wounded a police officer in the hand and the face.<ref name="40-ar-sedan"/>

Olsson had fired his weapon and threatened to kill the hostages if any gas attack was attempted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1602&artikel=5622207|title=40 år sedan Norrmalmstorgsdramat -– Avgörande ögonblick|authorwebsite=[[Sveriges Radio]]|websitedate=sverigesradio.se22 August 2013 |language=sv|access-date=2019-06-07}}</ref> NeverthelessNonetheless, on August 28 August police used [[tear gas]], and Olsson and Olofsson surrendered after an hour. None of the hostages sustained permanent injuries.<ref>{{cite namenews |last1="40Kamm |first1=Henry |title=Stockholm Police Seize 2 in Vault, Free 4 Hostages |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/08/29/archives/stockholm-arpolice-sedan"seize-2-in-vault-free-4-hostages-3-women-leave.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |issue=42221|volume=122 |date=29 August 1973}}</ref>

==Aftermath==

Both Olsson and Olofsson were charged, convicted, and Olofsson was sentenced to an extended prison termsterm for the robbery. However, OlofssonHe claimed, however, that he had not helped Olsson but had only tried to save the hostages by keeping the situation calm. TheHe courtwas later acquitted in the [[Svea Court of appealAppeal]] quashedand Olofsson'sserved only the remainder of his prior convictionssentence. He laterwent on to metmeet the hostage Kristin Enmark several times, and their families became friends. He lateralso committed furtherseveral more crimes.<ref name="40AB 2000-ar05-sedan21">{{cite news |url=http://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0005/21/clark.html |newspaper=[[Aftonbladet]] |title=Exklusiv intervju med Clark Olofsson |first=Suzanne |last=Kordon |date=21 May 2000 |accessdate=21 July 2008 |language=sv |archive-date=7 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107195412/https://wwwc.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0005/21/clark.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Olsson was sentenced to 10 years in prison.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldcrunch.com/default/forty-years-ago-a-swedish-bank-robber-gave-us-quot-stockholm-syndrome-quot-/stockholm-syndrome-jan-erik-olsson-hostage-hostages/c0s13206/ |website=Worldcrunch|title=ArchivedForty copyYears Ago, A Swedish Bank Robber Gave Us "Stockholm Syndrome"|accessdate=2013-08-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011004222/http://www.worldcrunch.com/default/forty-years-ago-a-swedish-bank-robber-gave-us-quot-stockholm-syndrome-quot-/stockholm-syndrome-jan-erik-olsson-hostage-hostages/c0s13206/ |archive-date=2014-10-11}}</ref> He received many admiring letters from women who found him attractive. (He later got engaged to a woman who was not, despite what some state, one of the former hostages.<ref name="annin1985">{{cite magazine |last=Annin |first=Peter |date=8 July 1985 |title=Hostages: Living in The Aftermath |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |page=34 |quote=Two women even became engaged to two of the hostage takers.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite onenews of|date=21 theAugust former2013 hostages|title=What is Stockholm syndrome? |url=https://www.)bbc.com/news/magazine-22447726 |access-date=2025-02-11 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> After his release, he is alleged to have committed further crimes. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/janne-olsson-anmalde-sig-sjalv/|title=Janne Olsson anmälde sig själv {{!}} Kvällsposten|website=www.expressen.se[[Expressen]]|date=5 May 2006 |language=sv|access-date=2019-06-07}}</ref>

The hostages sympathised{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} with their captors, which has led to academic interest in the matter. The [[Swedish language|Swedish]] term ''{{lang|sv|Norrmalmstorgssyndromet''}} (lit. "the Norrmalmstorg syndrome"), later known as [[Stockholm syndrome]]), was coined by the [[criminology|criminologist]] [[Nils Bejerot]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/nils-bejerot|title=Nils Bejerot -– Uppslagsverk -– NE.se|website=www.ne.se|access-date=2019-06-07}}</ref> The hostages, although they were threatened by Olsson, never became violent toward the police or toward each other.<ref name="40-ar-sedan"/>

In 1996, Jan-Erik Olsson moved to northeastern [[Thailand]] with his Thai wife and son,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/34810/inhuman-beast-finds-his-peace|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100323115623/http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/34810/inhuman-beast-finds-his-peace|archive-date = 23 March 2010|url-status=dead|work=Bangkok Post|title ='Inhuman beast' finds his peace |date =21 March 2010 }}</ref> and moved back to Sweden in 2013. Olsson's [[autobiography]] ''Stockholms-syndromet'' was published in Sweden in 2009.<ref name="40-ar-sedan"/>

==In popular culture==

The 2003 television film ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Norrmalmstorg (film)|lt=Norrmalmstorg|sv}}'', directed by Håkan Lindhé, is loosely based on the events.<ref>{{cite news |title=Norrmalmstorgsdramat blir riktigt spännande tv |first=Jeanette |last=Gentele |url=http://www.svd.se/kultur/scen/norrmalmstorgsdramat-blir-riktigt-spannande-tv_107001.svd |newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |date=1 September 2003 |accessdate=16 June 2013|language=sv}}</ref> A fictionalized version of the robbery is told in ''[[Stockholm (2018 film)|Stockholm]]'', a 2018 [[Canada|Canadian]] film directed by [[Robert Budreau]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/04/stockholm-ethan-hawke-noomi-rapace-tribeca-interview-news-1202371080/|title=Ethan Hawke & Noomi Rapace Learn True Meaning Of 'Stockholm' Syndrome —– Tribeca Studio|last=Grobar|first=Matt|date=19 April 2018-04-19|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2019-02-27}}</ref>

The podcast ''[[Criminal (podcast)|Criminal]]'' spoke with Olofsson about the Norrmalmstorg robbery in the episode "Hostage".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hostage|url=https://thisiscriminal.com/episode-113-hostage-04-26-2019/|date=April 26, April 2019|website=[[Criminal (podcast)|Criminal]]}}</ref>

NetflixIn is2022, Netflix producingproduced a 6 episodessix-episode series named ''[[Clark (TV series)|Clark]]'', directed by [[Jonas AkerlundÅkerlund]] and starring [[Bill Skarsgård]] as Clark Olofsson, set.<ref to premiere in 2021.name=netflix/>

== See also ==

{{Portal|Banks}}

* [[List of hostage crises]]

== References ==

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== External links ==

* [http://www.damninteresting.com/sympathy-for-the-devil Police photo of hostages and captor of Norrmalmstorg robbery]

* [http://www.nilsbejerot.se/sexdagar_eng.htm Nils Bejerot: The six day war in Stockholm, New Scientist, 1974] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505070303/http://www.nilsbejerot.se/sexdagar_eng.htm |date=5 May 2008 }}

{{coord|59.3332|18.0740|type:landmark_region:SE|display=title}}

[[Category:1970s in Stockholm]]

[[Category:August 1973 events in Europecontroversies]]

[[Category:1973 crimes in Sweden]]

[[Category:August 1973 in Europe]]

[[Category:Bank robberies]]

[[Category:Hostage takingControversies in Sweden]]

[[Category:Crime in Stockholm]]

[[Category:1970sHostage taking in StockholmSweden]]

[[Category:RobberiesLaw inenforcement Swedencontroversies]]

[[Category:August 1973 events in Europe]]

[[Category:Organized crime events in Sweden]]

[[Category:Police misconduct in Europe]]

[[Category:Robberies in Sweden]]