"Fremdenzimmer" is an old fashioned German word for "guest room". The literal translation is ambiguous since "Fremde" means "strangers". Sixteen young men, all from Syria, arrived in December 2015 in a small former guest house in the bavarian countryside. Writer Wilhelm Warning and his wife Sabine welcomed their new neighbours with Christmas cookies. Over the following weeks they became friends, almost like family to each other. Publisher Caroline Sieveking came up with the idea to tell their personal histories and reasons to escape their war-torn country. The book „Fremdenzimmer“ was published in 2016 followed by readings, exhibitions and public discussions. All names were changed to protect the identity of the men.