I freelance for the local paper and we've been told to keep our stories about 700 words - much more than that and you lose readers. Reading online is a lot different than writing for print. Admittedly, a couple of my hubs are long (1,000+) but I try to keep them around 700-800 words.
If you go for long, make sure it's broken up with subheads, pictures, etc. That helps readers. But regardless of length, if it's well-written with good info, people will read it to the end.
I think online readers have shorter attention spans than paper readers. It is very easy to just click the back button on the internet, so I would say that short catchy articles which can engage the reader and convey the message of the Hub as succinctly as possible would be best. Try to use a variety of photos, videos, etc to draw readers eyes further down the page.
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.