I have studied and prayer about this question for myself since I was in my twenties...I am now 70. I do believe in life before and after this current one,BUT, what is important is what you do with your life NOW.
I know some people who are huge believers, but I have a hard time thinking that we come back to earth in different forms. I do think we somehow live on, but for instance it would kind of suck to come back as a slug or something...as for human reincarnation, its still pretty unbelievable, but then again, who knows?
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.