Your understanding is correct, Steve. Orwell's "1984" was a great book. It was written 30 or 40 years earlier. In the book there were only 3 super powers left. All were totalitarian regimes. It was never clear in the book to which end of the political spectrum each belonged. The dictator was named "Big Brother". You never knew if "Big Brother" was one individual or a collective of individuals. Constant war was necessary to distract the people from focusing on their lack of freedom , rights and liberties. History was constantly revised to conform to the need of the minute...usually realigning allies in order to remain at war. Yesterday's ally became tomorrow's enemy. They had mass pep rallies called the "Two Minute Hate" at which the current revisionist history and propaganda was televised to the people, and incited the violence of the mob to the desired objective.

As you said Double Speak was double talk. It has been a long time since I read it, but I believe New Speak was a little different. Most languages add to their vocabulary and grow over time. In "l984"  words were deleted from the language each year in an effort to prevent subversive ideas from being communicated. If the people could not express the concepts of revolution...they could not organize and foment it.