The thing is, Mick, the people who commit the very worst crimes on behalf of a government (or a religion) most often are under the unshakeable impression that their victims are the real criminals and what they are doing to those so-called "criminals" is 100% legitimate defence of their country, their society, their moral traditions, and their freedom.

That certainly was the attitude of a great many Nazis, both high and low on the chain of command, when they arrested, incarcerated, brutalized and killed Jews, Gypsies, Communists, pacifists, and a great many other supposed "enemies of the Reich". Many years of virulent government and media propaganda had brought them to that understanding. They were duped and brainwashed.

Big Brother had told them over and over again that those people were bad, were deadly enemies of society, and they believed Big Brother. The same sort of thing goes on today, in a great many places. It goes on anywhere where a government primes its cops and its soldiers to kill, as a matter of fact. It's standard procedure. You dehumanize "the enemy", so that your young men in uniform will kill without hesitation when the time comes.

And if they don't, they are called cowards or traitors. That's pressure. Severe pressure. No wonder most people give in, deny their more human side, and just go along with the orders.