If you are planning on paying the debt then let them know it is you and negotiate to have it removed from your credit report once its paid If you don't plan on paying the debt then it will stay on your credit report for seven years regardless of whether you answer that letter.
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.