As to the portraits for the School(congratulations), in those days folks were a little shy of cameras and imagery was not a big thing with christian folk of any age, as allowed by the commandant to Israel. More Appropo would be verses, specifically those clearly guiding conduct toward one another. Verses in Calligraphy would be most attractive.
If any one did a portrait of those people, who posed for it. Really though, no one knows what they looked like after a couple of generations had passed. Jesus himself is described in Isaih ch.52,53, Imagery is of no import.
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.