Drawing from extensive fieldwork in Albania and a century-spanning database of individual identity decisions (1905 to 2004), this paper examines why integration literature reports divergent outcomes of state repression. I argue that both identity hardening and adaptive integration strategies often coexist within the same family unit, reflecting a process of "strategic hedging" of identity. Crucial factors include the timing since the repression, its intensity, and its duration: families with more ancestral repression tend to cultivate durable minority identities inside the home while simultaneously adopting integration strategies in public state spheres. This causal claim is supported by a quasi-experimental design leveraging Albania’s communist period (1945–1990), when closed borders eliminated migration as an option and a policy repressed some Greek villages but supported others. The analysis of mechanisms includes naming strategies--especially of females during intense repression--and contextual factors such as the occupation of the household head. The findings highlight the value of studying smaller, understudied contexts like Albania and demonstrate the importance panel data in revealing nuanced dynamics in identity repression and transmission decisions.