Do wikis have any hope of success?

Absolutely! However, an obstacle to the success of a wiki may be the problem of finding a way to motivate people to share honestly for the benefit of everyone else. It's not easy to encourage people to contribute.

One way to motivate others is for some people to do it, enjoy it, and then share it with others.

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.