The Day Stockholm Became a Syndrome

On August 23, 1973 a bank robbery at the Kreditbank in Stockholm went badly wrong. It turned into a hostage situation which lasted six days, and gave its name to a phenomenon.

Stockholm Syndrome is a way of describing the emotional bonds which some people can form with a captor or abuser. And it all started in that bank in Stockholm.

During the siege, despite being held against their will in a dangerous situation, the four hostages bonded with the bank robbers and turned against the police. They continued to defend their captors after their release and refused to testify against them. In fact, they even raised money for the bank robbers’ defence. This survival mechanism came to be known as “Stockholm Syndrome.”

In this film, nearly fifty years after the events, we hear directly from the hostages, bank robbers and police and find out what happened during those six eventful days.

Director: Olivier Pighetti