A more comprehensive understanding of demanding content through art

School curriculums of primary and secondary schools expect pupils and students to get acquainted to content which researchers in the field mark as demanding. One of those contents is World War II, which is a delicate subject. Most pupils and students have trouble with identifying with prosecuted groups; some cannot understand what events took place due to the nature or the extent of the contents, while others are just more sensitive to the horrors. School subject that deals with this topic the most is history. Teachers and professors use different sources which include various written and graphic content. World War II left a strong mark on Slovenians; therefore it has been depicted by many Slovenian artists. Learning through art is recognised as an effective method of additional explanation of other subjects, it helps to evolve empathy and art history is known as an extremely interdisciplinary science. Therefore we wanted to research how art could be used for a more comprehensive understanding of demanding content by pupils and students. Firstly, we researched which school subject curriculums contain the topic of World War II in Slovenia. By doing so, we found out which school subjects could be used in cross-curricular teaching and what are didactic recommendations for these links. In the master thesis we explained the differences between integrated curriculum and cross-curricular approach, provided an explanation for each and explained their usefulness. We presented multiple varieties of cross-curricular approach that are available to teachers. We presented the results of already conducted research on the topic of teacher’s opinions on such links and results of research of art-implemented curriculums. We explored what meaning art has for upbringing and education, what learning through art is and how subjects can be linked through visual art. Galleries and museums naturally link history and art history. Professionals in the field and authors of school curricula alike recognise museum education as an important method of learning human history and historical eras. Therefore, we presented this as well. School subjects’ curricula analyses have shown that history and art history are the most suitable subjects for a deeper understanding of World War II in Slovenia in primary and secondary school. In the second part of our research we explored which artwork of Slovenian post-war art is the most appropriate for such cross-curricular teaching. As a good example we chose Pompejansko omizje. This is a painting by Marij Pregelj, who reflected his concentration camp experiences on canvas. To broadly place the painting (into an art era in which it was created) we provided a gallery context. After an art historical analysis we prepared material for teachers for the chosen painting as the final result. It can be used for a cross-curricular approach for aforementioned school subjects. A part of the material is also a guided discussion about the work of art (prepared questions and expected answers), through which we present the content and theme of the artwork.