There's a fantastic site at ushistory.org/tour that lists all sorts of places and things to do while you're there. I don't know if you have kids or not, but if you do then one thing I didn't see listed on this site was Sesame Place. Among my favorites when visiting family there were the mint, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell (take the walking tour if you can), and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
We also went into the Dutch country a bit and found lots of Smorgasbords. If you've never been to one you need to stop there. We also stopped at one of the Amish/Mennonite museums while we were there.
Many of the goods there are produced by the local Amish and is probably the best chance you will have of those who have had some involvement with those communities. I had a wonderful time whenever visiting out that way and hope you will too.
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.