Thanks for the translation, Karin.   I still like the lyric variations that preserve the meaning and the rhyme pattern as well. And there are various ways to accomplish that.

Wolfgang, I fully concur about the importance of not calling songs "traditional" when the lyricists and or composers are known (especially for the reasons the Nazis had). (It bugs me that I so often see "Stille Nacht" listed as "traditional" too.)
Do you know when Heinrich Heine wrote his poem? And is the composer of the music known?

Wikipedia (at the moment) suggests that Heine's poem came sometime after 1801, but says not more about the date.

Genie