We all wish it could, but it can’t. I have a favourite example. One of Picasso’s greatest works, Guernica, was made shortly after the bombing of the town of Guernica in Spain by Franco, the fascist dictator and friend of Hitler’s. Picasso read about it and created this antiwar masterpiece from the images in his head. Afterwards, we had the bombing of Dresden, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and then 9/11. So if that scale of greatness can have no effect whatsoever, we need to realise the limitations of art and music.
This history has not been taught, because it has not been prioritized.
To whom do we teach this history, and when? Kids up to high school might not be the best audience, what with them still coming to grips with learning titles like Handmaid’s Tale, 1984 and Brave New World. Institutes of higher learning may get a better shot at explaining this subject matter properly, but it won’t reach the masses.