What Is Stockholm Syndrome?
Being held captive is going to be a terrifying ordeal for anybody. There will be so much apprehension because you won’t be able to be sure of what is going to happen, or even if you will get out alive. It is understandable that people held captive will have a great deal of animosity toward their captors, but this is not always the case.
Stockholm syndrome is a curious phenomenon where hostages actually begin to develop a bond with their captors and feel sympathy for them. In some cases, the hostages might even try to defend their captors when it comes to trial. We take a look at some interesting facts behind the phenomenon, and some examples of it occurring.
1. Survival Instinct
Stockholm syndrome is quite an unusual phenomenon, leading a lot of experts to ask just what is behind it. There are various potential theories as to just what causes it and one of the leading theories is that it is a coping mechanism.
In a hostage situation, it is generally best to try and remain as civil to your captors as possible, regardless of what you really think about them. Hostages might be concerned that their civility is discovered to not be genuine, however, and it is thought that this might cause them to actually begin believing their words and actions are legitimate.
2. Norrmalmstorg Robbery
The syndrome got its name from an incident that happened at Norrmalmstorg Square, Stockholm. It occurred in 1973 in the city’s Kreditbanken, and the incident was an attempted bank robbery by a Swede named Jan-Erik Olsson. The robbery went wrong, the bank was surrounded by police, and Olsson took four people as hostages.
The hostages remained captive to Olsson for six days, but they were all eventually released unharmed. When it came to Olsson’s trial, however, none of the hostages were willing to testify against him. In fact, they even started raising money for his defense. The event prompted psychiatrist Frank Ochberg to name the phenomenon “Stockholm syndrome.”
3. Natascha Kampusch
In Vienna, Austria, in 1998, Natascha Kampusch was kidnapped at only 10 years old. Her captor, Wolfgang Priklopil, took her to a room under his garage, and there she would remain his captive for another 8 years. Her release came in 2006 when she managed to escape from the room, and from Priklopil.
Priklopil was aware that the police were hunting him and he took his own life by jumping in front of a train. Oddly, Kampusch mourned his death and continued to keep a picture of him in her wallet. She now owns Kampusch’s house, although the cellar in which she was kept for so long has been filled in with cement.
4. Mary McElroy
In Kansas, USA, in 1933, Mary McElroy was kidnapped from her father’s home by four men while she was taking a bath. She was then taken to a farmhouse and held hostage while the men demanded $60,000 in ransom. She was chained to a wall in the farmhouse’s basement during her ordeal, and she was eventually released after her captors accepted $30,000.
Three of the men were caught and a trial followed, but McElroy was reluctant to identify them in court, and also expressed sympathy with their families. One of the men was sentenced to death, but McElroy pleaded against the decision and his life was spared.
5. Jaycee Lee Dugard
In 1991 in South Lake Tahoe, California, Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted by a man and a woman. Although there were witnesses to the abduction, police were unable to find Jaycee who was only 11 years old at the time. She didn’t reappear again until 2009, when she turned up at a police station.
At first, Dugard was defensive of her captors and pretended to be somebody else, but her true identity was eventually revealed. Her behavior in defending her captors has led some to suggest that she was experiencing Stockholm syndrome. During her captivity, she had two children whose father was one of her abductors who raped her regularly.
6. Patty Hearst
In Berkeley, California, 1974, Patty Hearst was kidnapped from her apartment by a group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). The apparent motive behind the kidnapping was to pressure her family, who had political influence, into releasing two SLA members.
During her captivity, Hearst was pressured into working with the group and, two months after her kidnapping, an audio tape was released with Hearst stating she had adopted the name Tania and had joined the SLA. She was caught on surveillance video helping the SLA to rob a bank for which she was eventually arrested and tried. She was sentenced to 35 years, which was reduced, and she was eventually pardoned by President Bill Clinton.
7. Colleen Stan
In 1977, Colleen Stan was kidnapped by Cameron Hooker as she was hiking her way to see a friend in California. Stan was taken to Hooker’s home where she was kept beneath a bed in a wooden box for 23 hours a day. She was treated as a sex slave during her ordeal.
In order to be released from the box, Stan agreed to become a slave of Cameron and his wife, Janice. The Hookers had managed to convince Stan that an organization known as “the company” would cause her harm if she tried to escape, and she stayed with them despite being allowed to visit her parents. Stan eventually went home alone, escaping from the Hookers. She kept in touch with Cameron, trying to convince him to reform. It was months before she eventually called the police.
8. Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002. She was only 14 years old at the time of her abduction. She was abducted by Brian David Mitchell who, after abducting her, forced her to hike for hours to reach a campsite.
There, Mitchell’s partner, Wanda Barzee, was waiting for them. Barzee performed a marriage ceremony between Mitchell and Smart, and Smart was then raped by Mitchell. Smart was with Mitchell for 9 months but she chose not to run away despite opportunities to do so. One time, she was even quizzed by a police officer, but she chose to hide her true identity. Mitchell was eventually caught and Elizabeth freed, Mitchell was sentenced to life imprisonment and Barzee was sentenced to 15 years.
9. Shawn Hornbeck
In 2002, Shawn Hornbeck was on his way to see a friend. He was riding his bicycle at the time, and was intentionally run off the road by Michael John Devlin. He was only 11 years old at the time. Devlin then abducted Hornbeck who wasn’t to be seen by his family again until 4 years later.
Hornbeck was eventually found in Hornbeck’s apartment, along with 13-year-old William Benjamin Ownby. During his time with Devlin, Hornbeck was often free to leave the apartment without supervision and would return of his own accord. Hornbeck even had a girlfriend. Devlin was given three life sentences.
10. Lima Syndrome
There are numerous cases where hostages begin to develop sympathy for their captors and develop a connection with them. It is something that psychologists are still trying to unravel, and there are other anomalies that can occur during such instances.
Lima syndrome is a phenomenon where the captors begin to feel sympathy for their hostages. It is known as Lima Syndrome because of an event that took place in Peru in 1996. A guerrilla group broke into the home of the Japanese ambassador during a party and held guests and hosts hostage. Out of sympathy for their hostages, however, the group began to release them unharmed.
