I'm against one thing you said about your aunt and that is she commands respect. You earn and give respect to only those who have earned it from you; it goes in a circle. As a rule those who command respect never have any intentions on giving it back.
They take and they take and they take. Respect is to be earned and given to those who have also earned it.
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.