Playing beyond 1945

[Shapeshifter]

I know that right before the start of a new game you can tick this option on or off. Now in my current game I must've left the setting to "end of war in 1945".

Thing is that I spent a good amount of time on getting as far as I've gotten and would like to play beyond 1945 but since I forgot to activate that before I started the game I'm stuck now. Honestly I cant see myself going through the difficult Russian conquest again (played Axis) and would just like to alter the time setting. Is that possible at all by modifying something in the txt-files or will I have to start all over again ?

Another thing I found truly HIGHLY annoying is the lack of a fast-forward button when the AI makes its moves (at least I couldn't find any). Most hours of playing time were actually spent on waiting for the AI to finish. Is there something that can be done about that as well ?