Can the individual accumulate wealth in a socialist or communist state?

Accumulation of wealth is about taking risk. But it's also about spending and saving habits. So the short answer is yes.

But in a society such as that, it would be far more difficult to accumulate wealth. It's also questionable what the value of that wealth might be since lifestyle also happens to be suppressed in such economic systems.

You sure can. Join the ruling party and learn to play the power, corruption, and graft game. Look up on Amazon the book (short novel) "Animal Farm", by George Orwell.

...Not a chance in hades. Sorry, but the whole point of Socialism and Communism is that the idividual is of little to no value. Only for the purpose of feeding the despot and the tyrant is he of use.

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.