I'm sorry to disappoint you, but your family WILL notice if you start digging into the concrete foundations of the house. If not by the noise (its virtually impossible to dig through concrete in silence) then by the water table seeping upwards into the walls and finally by the inevitable subsidence and eventual collapse of the family home. You need to put your dream hold, until you can afford your own house with a basement or can afford the services of a team of structural engineers and architects to add a basement.
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.