His family said one of the two charismatic criminals involved in the kidnapping brought the world the term “Stockholm Syndrome” at the age of 78.
Clark Oloffson was notorious in 1973 after abduction and bank robbery in the Swedish capital.
During the six-day siege, Orovson’s hostages began to sympathize with him and his accomplices, defending their actions while becoming more hostile to the police outside.
The incident brought its name to a theoretical psychological state, and the kidnapping victim developed feelings for the kidnapping.
The infamous bank siege was incited by another man, Jan-Erik Olsson. After capturing the hostages of three women and a man, he asked Orofson (who had previously been friends in prison) to be taken to the bank.
Swedish authorities agreed to his request and Orovson entered the bank surrounded by police.
Years later, in an interview with the Aftonbladet newspaper, he claimed he was asked to work as an insider to ensure the safety of the captives in exchange for a reduced sentence, but alleged that officials did not honor the agreement.
Olofsson convinced one of the hostages, Kristin Enmark, to speak with the Swedish prime minister on the phone on behalf of the robber.
She begged to be allowed to leave the bank with the kidnapper in an escaped car and told him: “I totally believe in Clark and the robbers…they did nothing to us.”
She continued: “Instead, they are very good…believe it or not, but we had a great time here.”
On several calls, Enmark said she was worried that the kidnappers would be hurt by police and repeatedly defended their actions.
“He promised that he would make sure that nothing happened to me, and I decided to believe him. I am 23 years old and I am scared of my life,” she said in her memoir.
The hostage situation ended six days later, with police breaking into the roof and subduing the couple with tear gas.
Initially, the hostages refused to leave the prisoners, fearing they would be shot by police. The hostages later refused to testify against Olofson and Olson.
Since then, experts have been debating whether Stockholm syndrome is an actual psychotic disorder, some of whom believe it is a defense mechanism for coping with trauma situations.
Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot coined the term after the siege to explain the seemingly unreasonable feelings of certain captives toward the hostages.
The following year, Patty Hearst, a California newspaper heiress Kidnapped by revolutionary militants.
Talk about BBC’s Side Podcast in 2021Enmark dismantled the concept of Stockholm syndrome, saying: “It’s a way to blame the victim. I’m doing everything I can to survive.”
Olofsson is a criminal who spent most of his life in prison. He was released in 2018 after being sentenced for drug crimes in Belgium.
In 2022, actor Bill Skarsgård portrayed him in the Netflix TV series Clark.
