Putin’s threat to use nuclear war reminded me of how much we were concerned about it when I was young. Concerns about nuclear war were exacerbated by the Cuban Missle Crisis. We had drills at school where we hid under desks. With hindsight, I realize we would have probably been fried anyway. People built fallout shelters to hide underground with provisions to live. The Atomic Cafe is a good documentary on the period.
It was prominent in movies such as Fail-Safe (also a popular and gripping novel) and Dr. Strangelove which featured someone riding a bomb. Science fiction and horror films had monsters created through nuclear war.
The Nuclear Monsters That Terrorized the 1950s
List of films about nuclear issues
Sad! 