[1][2] Operating here before DEF was the first Malopolska factory of enamelware and metal products limited liability company, instituted in March 1937.

Pierwsza Małopolska Fabryka Naczyń Emaliowanych i Wyrobów Blaszanych “Rekord,”Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością w Krakowie ('Rekord' First Małopolska Factory of Enamel Vessels and Tinware, Limited Liability Company in Kraków)[3] was established in March 1937[4] by three Jewish entrepreneurs: Michał Gutman from Bedzin, Izrael Kahn from Kraków, and Wolf Luzer Glajtman from Olkusz.

It was then that the following were built: the stamping room where metal sheets were processed, prepared and pressed, the deacidification facility (varnishing) where the vessels were bathed in a solution of sulfuric acid to remove all impurities and grease, and the enamel shop, where enamel was laid in a number of layers: the priming coat first, then the colour, and finally another protective coat.

It was also probably around that time in which Oskar Schindler, a Sudeten German who was a member of the Nazi Party and an agent of the Abwehr, arrived in Kraków.

Schindler in this respect was initially driven by economic reasons—employing Jews significantly decreased the costs of recruitment, as they did not receive any compensation.

The working conditions were difficult, especially at the stands at enamel furnaces and at ladles with sulfuric acid, with which the workers (predominantly women) had direct contact.

During the existence of the ghetto in Podgórze, Jewish workers were led to the factory under the escort of industrial guards (Werkschutzs) or Ukrainians.

The nutritional conditions were much better than in the Płaszow camp, especially due to the cooperation with Polish employees - they contacted people in the city, brought letters and food to the Jewish workers.

As the eastern front approached Kraków, the Germans began to liquidate the camps and prisons in the east of the General Government.

In the 1948–2002 period, the former DEF facilities were used by Krakowskie Zakłady Elektroniczne Unitra-Telpod (later renamed Telpod S.A.), a company manufacturing telecommunications equipment.