I'm no psychologist, but I always thought 11 (the preteen years) was the beginning of wanting independence/to be seen as more mature, especially from your parents. But since his mother shelters/spoils him, that's probably why he's different. It only starts to become a huge problem once he gets to the 8th grade, and maybe 7th.
Kids are brutal around that time.
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.