There isn't a nice way to really let someone down. You just have to be honest to him and tell him you just see him as a friend. Rejecting him will allow him to find someone that will feel the same as he does.
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.