I remember as a young child in the 50's hiding under my school desk...

[Wonder Why]

36. In the 1950s, there were atomic bombs. The Soviets exploded their first hydrogen "device" (not yet a bomb)

in 1955 so it was sometime later that they had hydrogen bombs. But having nuclear weapons and delivering them accurately are two different things and that's why the Soviets had to build them much bigger than ours.

Not everyone died nor got cancer in Nagasaki or Hiroshima. Bombs in the '50s were well survivable because of the size and the limitations on delivery (planes could be shot down, no nuclear submarines, no ICBMs). So, depending upon the type of burst, the distance from you, your protection, the prevailing winds at the time, and more), it was not as silly as some people today think it was. Nuclear Shelters went out of fashion when technology improved in accuracy, method of delivery and the use of MIRVs.