I think that this is what you are looking for.
In Ruby 1.9.3 is possible to use String. Encode to "ignore" the invalid UTF-8 sequences. Here is a snippet that will work both in 1.8 (iconv) and 1.9 (String#encode).
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.