Hm...in so far as I understand the idea behind the word (like the Danish word hygge, there's no real translation for it; even "Taking pleasure/satisfaction from the struggles/pain/bad experience of others" only gets at half of it), it is something we humans feel. As an example, you boss is a queen b*tch who keeps threatening you with the sack. She then gets fired herself. How do you feel? Schadenfreude. And no, I wouldn't feel bad about it, not in the slightest bit (and didn't, having experienced that exact scenario).
Again, as far as I understand the concept, it's not intended to describe maliciously/pointedly taking pleasure/satisfaction from the plight of another for its own sake. But it is rather good of the Germans to come up with a word for a feeling that is universally and typically human.