She is recognized as an icon of saving Jewish children; Thanks to her, many of them were led out of the Warsaw ghetto and hidden in Polish families, orphanages and monasteries. She was honoured with the title of Righteous Among the Nations

Irena Sendler did not like to be called a heroic figure. When asked if she had been afraid, she honestly admitted, adding that the hatred towards the perpetrators was stronger than fear. She was silent for many years about her activities during the war. She described for the first time what she had been doing at the time of German occupation, on the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. To numerous questions as to why she had risked so much, she replied that she would not have been able to survive the war otherwise.

In 2018, the Institute of National Remembrance and the Polczta Polska issued a commemorative stamp with Irena Sendler.