Life's an emergent property of the way natural components have interacted and come together. I don't think it's anything separate, and it doesn't carry on after death. Personality doesn't survive death; it is a function of the body; the mythical concept of the soul seems to have come from ancient Greek religion.
In fact, personality doesn't even always last while the body lives. We will return to the way we were before we were conceived. And the molecules that made up our bodies will be recycled by nature.
If we have children, then our genes persist in later generations. People we leave behind will be left with memories, emphasising the happy ones hopefully, once they have come through the grieving process. I've accepted that things are the way they are, and have come to terms with the reality of this quite some time ago.
And I'm happy and at peace with that. Heaven and Hell, and other lands of the dead, are mythical places. So we can take comfort from knowing that we don't risk eternal torment.
It doesn't matter what we think happens after death. We know very well what happens (physically) when we die. The body decomposes and rots to bone.
Religions take various positions on what they think happens "spiritually" after death, but there is no credible evidence for their claims.
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.