I would say: 1. Emphasis on humanism. Humanism (very simplified) is the belief that humans have potential and are valuable - versus the previous era's belief that the afterlife was the only real important thing.2.
A rediscovery of classical learning (that's the re-birth of the name) 3. An explosion of the arts.
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.