Chełmek [ˈxɛu̯mɛk] is a town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. In 1975-1998 it belonged to Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship. It has 9,073 inhabitants (data from 2006). Previously known for the Chełmek Shoe Factory, which until 1947 was part of Bata Shoes. During World War II, a subcamp of the Auschwitz concentration camp was created in 1941 by Otto P. Klein in the northern sector of the town, housing overflow from Auschwitz.