In 1934, in the workshops of the children’s labour commune of Dzerzhinsky in Kharkov, which, since October 1927, was headed by the famous teacher and writer Anton Makarenko, the serial production of small-format mechanical cameras started. The prototype was the Leica II camera of the German company E. Leitz. Several disadvantages of German model were eliminatedin the brand-new camera. For instance, it became more convenient and easier to load the film: even a novice amateur photographer could load the film simply by removing the back cover of the camera. The model was named FED – Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. At the beginning of 1934, the first FED models went on sale.

The camera consisted of 80 parts that were assembled by hand. By the end of 1934, 1,800 cameras were on sale; in 1935, more than 15,000 were produced.
Later the commune became a production plant of the NKVD where mechanized conveyor production was organized. First FED cameras had the serial number and the place of assembly engraved. Before thewar, about 160 650 cameras were produced.