Yes, much hangs upon the translation. You don't just translate words, you basically have to re-tell. A good translator needs to have some talent for storytelling and have a good udnerstanding of language. If you've ever tried translating from one language into another, it will be very obvious.
There is much of culture embedded in language, and I don't think you can really make a translation that is 100% as good - but on the other hand, I personally don't think I get all the nuances of an English language text, so I am not sure which would best; native text in English or a good translation into Danish
In this case, I am going to find a translation into Danish, as I don't see much point in reading a translation from German to English when neither is my native tongue.