A custom collation seems to be the most appropriate, but if that is not possible, perhaps you could tailor your searches to use regular expressions. It's not exactly ideal, but may be of use in some situations. At least it allows you to store data in the correct format (without having to replace quotes), and just do the replacements on the search query itself.
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.