It would seem to me that the whole idea of extinguishing a candle with a punch may have begun with M. Oyama the founder of Kyokushin. In my 20's and 30's I did it to illustrate that a punch must be fast in order to put out the candle.
I used it to stress that speed requires you to have relaxed muscles then be able to tighten them at the correct time. A fast punch is relaxed until the instant it strikes then is again relaxed. Studied have proven that you can tighten a relaxed muscle faster than you can a muscle that is already partially tight before tensing.
I see extinguishing a candle as only a curiosity or at most a drill. Better to have the skill to actually hit someone than to spend lots of time trying to develop speed, if you cant hit someone. Speed is good but good timing can allow a slower person to defeat a faster person.
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.