Hermann Max-Gustav Brauneck (19 December 1894 – 27 July 1942) was a German naval officer, physician and member of the paramilitary Sturmabteilung who rose to the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer.

He was involved in administering the Nazi racial policies and served as a judge on the Hereditary Health Court, deciding whether people considered to have genetic disorders should be forcibly sterilized.

He was posted aboard the protected cruiser SMS Hertha and took part in a training cruise to Canada, Mexico and the Antilles before returning to Kiel in March 1914.

After the outbreak of the First World War, Brauneck was assigned to the battleship SMS Deutschland where he served as a watch officer and participated in the Battle of Jutland.

He then served as a staff officer in Battleship Squadron IV until the end of the war in November 1918, having earned the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class.

[2] Brauneck also served as a judge on a Hereditary Health Court, a body established by the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring, which decided whether people considered to have genetic disorders should be forcibly sterilized.

[6] In May 1936, Brauneck presented two lectures on the Nuremberg Laws as an instructor at the Führerschule der Deutschen Ärzteschaft (Leadership School of German Medicine) in Alt Rehse.

[5] On 1 February 1937, Brauneck became acting chief of the Medical Office at the Supreme SA Leadership (OSAF) succeeding Emil Ketterer, an appointment that was made permanent on 1 May.

[7] Apart from his SA career, Brauneck also attempted to enter elective politics and unsuccessfully sought a seat as a deputy to the Reichstag in April 1938.