Originally Posted by sarettah

The SS soldiers ran the extermination and death camps. Their loyalty was not to Germany but directly to Hitler and the Nazi party and they were handpicked by the party. They believed in the superiority of the arian race and were driven by that rather than loyalty to their country or their people.

So, no, for the SS soldier (or officer) that put bodies in the oven it was not sacrifice in their minds but rather privelege.

All strictly imho of course (except the factual parts, like the SS running the death camps and the SS being pretty much hand picked.)

Just for information, so it doesn't get cloudier, there were many german soldiers that were not part of the Nazi party and were not loyal to the Nazi party.