If you are planning to send a letter of resignation, one assumes you're trying to follow procedure. This is a good thing as it minimizes the risk of getting bad references for your next job, and shows potential new employers that you are a responsible worker. To bolster the above, unless the manager's absence is expected to continue for such a long period that you simply cannot wait I'd first consider waiting until s/he gets back from vacation.
Otherwise I'd consider handing in the resignation to the acting manager, and CC'ing the manager in a way that would show up on her/his desk when s/he returns from vacation. If company policy allows or requires it, you can also CC the district manager via postal service (a fax would make it visible to others in the DM's office which may not be a good thing). Disrupting the manager's vacation to deal with an employee's resignation is not a positive move, and simply going over his/her head to the DM would potentially give rise to bad feelings.
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.