George Orwell must have been a very old man when he wrote that, and he clearly knew nothing about what was going on in Germany in the 20s and 30s.

After WWII, the Allies put heavy financial penalties on Germany and inflation was so great that in the morning the price of bread was one thing and by supper time it was another thing.

My late father (born 1910 in Berlin) told me that inflation was so great that Berliners walked around with suitcases of cash.

At the time, people were in intense struggle for survival. They had little money. Hitler promised them better financial times and a return to glory. opened up a car plant to produce a family car - Vokswagen - which is a literal translation of the words 'family car'. He started conscription, thereby giving people a wage.

Many of the German industries were started by Hitler - I've forgotten who they were, but I do know that Volkswagen was one.

Hitler did two things. He promised people a job, money, and a return to their former glory - Deutschland uber alles (Germany over everything else).

This had nothing to do with the meaning of life.