Usually a long series of bad luck and bad choices.
Science can only take you so far and even then theres things that science alone cannot answer, have you ever thought there are things still waiting to be discovered things that we have not yet encountered, i'm not saying God exists but to go out and say god is not real is very foolish. When you know the answers to "ALL" of life's Mysteries then maybe you have the right to say that.
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.