> sacrifice would instill humanity in his tormentors. and he would be wrong.

So true it's scary.

In WWII there were examples of doctors who dissected living aestheticized people in biological experiments. Later testimony indicates that after a while these doctors were no longer bothered by what they were doing; they'd finish up a day's work and go home.

People can become desensitized to anything. Combine that with authority figures and you have a recipe for disaster.