I think the premise of the "Essey" is too large,... more than a couple of thousand words and this audience will get bored or tired of scrolling...
What you've proposed is a Doctrinal Thesis, which could span for thousands of pages... Its not that its a bad idea, I just dont see it being written in 3 days.
Focus on one event, or one person, or try to link the Zeitgeist to the world now and you've got something...
(Focusing on forgotten areas of the war would be interesting... like indochina, Iraq and the power play there, or perhaps something more up your alley like Staligrad.)
Heck talk about Ms. Pavlachinko
Liudmila Pavlichenko (as spelled in the New York Times; another spelling is Lyudmila) was a lieutenant in the Soviet Army and in May 1942 was cited by the Southern Red Army Council for killing 257 German soldiers [total confirmed "kills" during WWII: 309]. She was invited to appear before the International Student Assembly being held in late August in Washington, D.C., where she received a hero's welcome....
Later she attended C.I.O. meetings and made appearances and speeches in New York City. When she left for her trip back to the Soviet Union, she was presented with a Colt automatic pistol, a hero's gift.
