Sentence:  Do patriots everywhere know enough about how the persecution of the Jews in Germany and later in the occupied countries contributed to terrorizing the populations , splitting apart individuals and groups , arousing the meanest and most dishonest impulses , pulverizing trust and personal dignity , and finally forcing people to follow their <WSD>masters</WSD> into the abyss by making them partners in unspeakable crimes ? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a person who has general authority over others