The registration served as the first step in the selection of 2.000 men designated for forced labour. They were sent to mines as well as to road, railway, and airport construction works undertaken by the Nazi public works company. The only ones excluded were those with passports from neutral countries or to the Axis Powers of Nazi Germany and Italy. The cruel working conditions, limited nutrition and non-existent medical treatment led to illness for the majority of men, and to death for the others. To negotiate their return, the Community agreed to pay 2 billion drachmas in installments to the German authorities, represented by Dr.Merten, the commander of the Wehrmacht administration in Thessaloniki. Merten also asked for the destruction of the old Jewish cemetery which was valued at one and a half billion drachmas. The community wanted to negotiate and resist, but in the end, they obeyed.