Columbus claimed to have found a route to the West Indies (what he was looking for). He belived his claim until his death. However, it was later discovered that he had in fact found the Americas.
Germany had the support of Italy and Japan, with whom it established an alliance in the late 1930s known as the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. Like Germany, Italy and Japan, they also had expansion projects. Italy sought influence over the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa, and Japan, influence over the Pacific Ocean, China and part of Russia (at the time, belonging to the Soviet Union).
