The Atlas Obscura Podcast · Wednesday, July 29, 2026
In August 1973, Jan Olsson robbed a bank in Stockholm, initiating a six-day hostage situation. The dynamic between Olsson, his accomplice Clark Olofsson, and the hostages was so unusual that it led to the coining of the term "Stockholm syndrome." Despite the police efforts to end the situation, the hostages later refused to testify against their captors, and Olofsson was acquitted.
“And it's in this beautiful old brick 19th century building. Um, but this hotel is famous for something that happened inside of this building 50 years ago.”
“So this hotel is a former bank. And back in the 1970s there was actually a very high profile and very botched bank robbery that occurred in this vault.”
“But critically, the dynamic between the hostages and the robbers in this situation was so unusual that it actually coined a term in psychology called Stockholm syndrome.”
“And so the hostages say, no, we can't come out first because if we leave and it's just Jan and Clark in here, then you're going to shoot them.”