“War is Peace” is doublespeak; an inherent contradiction. Anybody can say it and still see the contradiction and believe that it isn’t true. Doublethink is the internalization of that doublespeak. A Party member says it and sees no contradiction. Deep in their hearts, they understand that to be in a never ending war is to experience neverending peace.
All that to say that doublespeak was certainly a thing in the novel, as it labours on the distinction between doublespeak and doublethink.
And this statement makes even more sense when you realize that race isn’t a real, measurable thing, but a social construct to group people with similar physical characteristics into one easily reduced and stereotypical “enemy”. all races are nothing more than social statuses.
(I recognize that in our modern world, after centuries of propagating the social constructs of race, it has sort of become a real thing insofar that we can’t pretend the idea simply never existed. it is impossible to “solve” the issue of race and have a society where benign physical characteristics simply don’t matter in day to day life without addressing the historical oppression and modern inequities of these groupings)