Honestly implementing custom stats would be much better for a few different reasons. First of all 1 database insertion for every page view on the profiles is somewhat accaptable for small numbers. If the page starts creating a bottleneck then you could have an a sync request when the page loads.
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.