While this is not per se the answer to the "reasonably correct and portable" question #1 above, the answer to #2 I found from How do I make a fully statically linked . Exe with Visual Studio Express 2005? .
If the compiler /MD option is changed to /MT, it switches from linking in the DLL to linking it in statically and the problem goes away1.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.