Bracht was appointed to the post of Deputy Gauleiter of Gau Silesia on 1 May 1935, serving under Gauleiter Josef Wagner. He also served briefly as acting Deputy Gauleiter in Wagner’s other jurisdiction, Gau Westphalia-South from 1 to 15 August 1936.

When Silesia was split into two Gaue, Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia on 27 January 1941, Bracht succeeded Wagner as the Gauleiter of the new Upper Silesia. He also succeeded to the position of Oberpräsident (High President) of the new Province of Upper Silesia, thus uniting under his control the highest party and governmental offices in the province.

On 16 November 1942 he was named Reich Defense Commissioner in his Gau. On 20 April 1944, he was promoted to the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer.

Within Bracht’s jurisdiction was Auschwitz concentration camp. In 1944, with war threatening Silesia, Bracht ordered that air defence facilities in his Gau be upgraded but could not prevail upon the Armament Ministry to do so.

Major Red Army offensives were launched against Upper Silesia beginning in January 1945, it is rumoured that during the time of the Death Marches from Auschwitz he was taken-ill and hospitalised which led to poor management and confusion.

Hostilities continued in Upper Silesia into May, 1945. As the Red Army marched into Silesia, Bracht and his wife both died by poisoning themselves with potassium cyanide/