Officially, on November 9, 1989, the East Berlin government announced to its citizens that they were free to travel anywhere in Western Europe with a visa. As soon as they heard the news, people began running out of their homes and towards the gates of Berlin, swamping the guards. Since many people were rushing past the guards, they had no time to check their visas. Therefore, people went out both ways. Some chose to stay and take part in a celebration of their own. Many people chose to stand on top of the Berlin Wall and tear it down to send a message to their government that they were no longer prisoners ("Berlin Wall