No, it was not so much odd as you were being "used" (in a nice way) as one of the selling points through your answers to her questions. You see, she asked you these questions so you could give honest answers for the other family members to hear. To me, it was a very clever selling technique.
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.