Well, many Jews were given special sanctions by the Hapsburg Monarchs, namely Emperor Franz-Josef, that's somewhat true. This isn't to imply however, that there was any less hostility towards Jews among the rank and file population at the time. In fact, Austria's anti-semitism was almost as virulent as Poland's, and more than in Germany. Don't forget either, the German "Aufklaerung" spread all throughout the Empire and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Moses Mendelssohn (himself a Jew!), Goethe himself, all contributed to a dissemination of French ideas regarding human equality etc.
The Austro-Hungarian situation was slightly different. Much of the region was still a rather backwater area, far behind France and England in either mercantile or cultural influence.
While most Jews from beyond the Pale, as you mention, were the most numerous immigrants to the New World, many Polish Jews settled for a time in Germany as well as other European countries, often forever, while others did indeed emigrate to America.
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